It Matters
by Sixelle of Fireyness
Summary: Inspired by "Like A Candle In The Night" on Fanfiction. After being abandoned by her rescue team, Orihime now faces undetermined time in the hands of her Arrancar caretakers, particularly that of a lazy Espada and his youthful sidekick. Guaranteed OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**_Price_**

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_The things in one's life_

_All are marked with a withheld_

_Demand, quite sadly_

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Two sets of gray eyes stared at one another.

The first, narrowed with weariness, held a blue tint.

The second, large and uncertain, glowed a faint purple.

Blue eyes looked at purple unemotionally, hiding his true feelings behind those glass orbs and the purple eyed girl slowly closed her eyes to block the intimidating figure before her. She felt she was being rude, but at the moment she wished to shut out everything.

_It can't be true.... It can't...._

But she had known, even before this man came before her.

A messenger, an _Espada_, one she have never seen.

"It's nice to meet you, human woman."

_'I wish I could say the same.'_

"Ulquiorra is busy at the moment. I'll temporarily be taking his place."

At this statement, her eyes did opened, revealing wide eyes.

"I'll be your caretaker for a while, and I go by the name Coyote Starrk."

As was with her nature, her lips twitched into a weak smile. The man -- hollow, really, but it felt wrong to think that -- returned the gesture with a weak smile of his own as he took a step towards her. He stopped before her from her position seated on her quarter's couch, crouching down a little to meet eye-to-eye. He quirked an eyebrow as he looked directly at the near-equally grey eyes. The girl gasped in realization, her hands curling into fists on her chest.

"I-I-I'm Inoue Orihime!" she squeaked.

Both his eyebrows flew upward at her reply. "Inoue Orihime? So which one is your first name? Inoue?"

"No, my first name is Orihime."

"Hmm..."Eyes closing, he straightened up and, with hands in his pockets, stretched back, grunting in effort before straightening up again. He slump forward, Orihime squeaking again, landing to her right on the couch. He sighed contentedly before reopening his eyes, inclining his head towards the girl.

"....All right, Orihime. I won't beat around the bush. I also came to deliver a message." His right hand rested on his chin, where a goatee was growing, his fingers passing over the studs, giving the impression of him being thoughtful. "Although something tells me you already know."

Orihime looked away from him, tears beginning to form and threaten to spill over.

"Your friends, who we had originally believed to have arrived in Hueco Mundo for the purpose of setting you free, have retreated back to the Soul Society."

A sobbed gasp tore through through the young woman as those tears kept to their word and began to slide down her cheeks. The palm of her hands begun to sting as the result of her nails digging into them.

Starrk heaved out a heavy breathe as his eyes continued to look at the white-clad quivering back of the girl he was assign to take care. He fell back on the settee, eyes closing again. His hand lifted towards the rest of his face, hiding his eyes as he attempted to block out the bawling next to him.

The auburn headed individual couldn't stop the shaking. Even when she lifted her arms and wrapped herself with them, she couldn't stop. The tears were leaking out in abundance and they wouldn't stop.

Her mind was in turmoil as she thought back to the past, before she relented herself to Aizen Sousuke. She had chosen this path for herself, for the safety of her friends.

She slitted her heavy eyes, red and stinging, open as she risked a glance at her caretaker, face hidden by his hand. Another sob escaped her as her mind concluded his lost of interest in her due to her predicament.

All she saw was white as she slumped to her left on the arm of the couch, tears still flowing freely and now staining the white furniture, though her sobs were now lessening in volume. She lifted her eyes to the sole window in her quarters, aimed at the quarter moon floating over what appeared to be a night sky. Sniffing, she couldn't help but realize that no matter her choice, no one was there to comfort and reassure her.

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**A/N:** Another (hopefully continuous) attempt on a fanfic. Don't know if I'm going to continue **Gazed** or not, but considering I've been, more or less, grounded from my laptop, not anytime soon. Don't get your hopes up in whether I'll continue this. I want to, but since my time on my sister's computer is usually limited, I don't think so. Plus, it all depends if I'm motivated enough to do this. But I'll try, because for now, I feel optimistic.^-^


	2. Chapter 2

**_Phrase_**

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_It takes but one word_

_To send a regard across_

_Someone listening_

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When Starrk slept, he slept hard. Waking up (unfortunately -- for others) was a task made difficult as a result. It couldn't be helped. He quite frankly took lethargy to a whole new level when such a situation became possible.

It was only through other means one can bring him out of his drowsiness.

Some violent and excruciating methods.

"WAKE-UUUUPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!"

"Guuuuaaaaahhh!!!!"

The brunette _Espada_ rolled off his berth of pillows, one hand nursing his throat, while the other was holding his body off the ground.

"Wake the heck up, Lazy Bum!"

Starrk mumbled an "Ouch!" as he turned to glance at his occupant.

"Lilynette! Stop it! I did the first part of the job! What more do you want from me?!"

A small foot made contact with his chin, forcing his head back. "The heck you did!" His breathe left him as she fell bottom first on his chest, both of her feet now pushing against his chin.

"Aizen-sama told you your job was to take care of that human girl!" she screeched, each word accented by a push from her feet. "So, why ain't you over her room!?"

"Ow, ow--! Damn it!!"

The torment lasted for a few minutes, with more attempts on the young girl's part in dislocating his head and even more attempts of lifting himself up and out of the situation from the other. By the time Lilynette had deemed his suffering was sufficent, Starrk was once more clutching his extremely sore chin.

"You need to quit being so lazy!" she chided, seated next to him, back against his pillow-made futon. For a moment, Starrk didn't answer, staring at the door to his chambers.

"I guess you could say that." he finally relented.

He knew, of course, Lilynette would not be fooled by the dismissed tone he used. The blonde turned to looked at him, her sole pink eye wide.

"What's wrong?" He met her gaze, seeing the slight surprise in the pink orb she permitted to be seen by only him. Despite himself, his lips curved slightly upward.

"Humans are such strange creatures, Lilynette."

The girl huffed with a left flick from her blonde head. "You talking like you never were one."

"Hmm.... It's just that with things how they were before, it's so strange to see what you have long forgotten up close."

Thin knees were brought close to the girl's pale face as a stricken cast fell over her face. Though, when he looked in her eye, he marveled at the small sign of wonder contained in it.

"How is she? Is she what we imagined her to be?" she asked in a small voice. Starrk closed his eyes, breathing out through his nose, before he answered.

"Beyond expectations."

'_It's best this way._'

"Really?"

"Really really." The smile was still on his face. "Even Ulquiorra, the best in the _Espada_ for information gathering, couldn't prepare me for what I witnessed."

'_This way, I know they are all safe._'

She lifted her head, her shoulders convulsing from her low laughter. "To catch even you off guard!"

The large room begun to fill with the low chuckles from the brunette and blonde pair, all the while Starrk never taking his eyes off the door, as his thoughts strayed back to an auburn haired human elsewhere in the palace.

'_Afterall, that is the purpose for me being here._'

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**A/N:** Chapter 2 done. Phew! I don't think I managed to write Starrk and Lilynette enough to do justice, but I wanted this chapter to make it somewhat clear what the two's relationship is like. In a way I managed to half accomplish that goal. The chapter's not exactly the best, but I think I did it sufficient enough. I'll make up for it in the next chapter, either way.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disapprove_**

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_Meekness reigns the soul_

_Though layers firmly rooted_

_Preserve it mended_

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Though her eyes demanded somnolence, Orihime remained standing in the likeness of the sole window. The illuminating light from the moon were like daggers to her red eyes, and they remained slitted opened in a feeble attempt to ease the pain. She could not help thinking if she could, she would cry some more from the persistent sting, but knowing it will only make everything worse.

She sniffed, placing a hand on the lower part of her face, the underside of her fingers tracing over the dry proof of tears. Her cheek felt warm to her hand, a testiment to how out of it she felt.

She took a deep breathe, chest heaving out for a moment as she let the air all out in a huge sigh.

'_So much has happened in so little time today... at least I think it hasn't been that long._' She thought.

Since the moment she step foot in _Las Noches_, she lost all sense of self. The instincts and reflexes she had weaving within herself since the beginning of her life back in the human world were rendered useless in this continuously dark, plain and remote world. Even with Ulquiorra checking in on her, she could not keep track of how long since she surrendered herself to Aizen and the _Arrancars_.

Of course, she realized, her emotionless, and apparently former, caretaker would not have provided her with such information. The _Arrancar_ known as Ulquiorra made it clear from the moment Yasutora Sado fell in battle he would not help her in any form or way.

'_What do you want me to say? "Don't worry? He's still alive?" Nonsense. I'm not here to comfort you. I don't understand. What difference does it make whether he's alive or dead? One way or another, your friends will all die soon. One of them just happened to die sooner than the others. You must've known this was coming._'

'**_Stop._**'

She dropped her gaze from the window.

The memory of that time was still intacted. She remembered so clearly slapping Ulquiorra for insulting her friends the way he had.

At that time she felt so torn and guilty.

For the possible death of Sado. And the probably inevitable ones of her other friends.

Her nails dug into her cheeks.

'_Sado-kun. Abarai-kun. Ishida-kun. Kuchiki-san._

'_Kurosaki-kun._'

A sob tore through her chest, but Orihime did nothing to stop it. Even if she had, it would not have matter. Her eyes were now dry of any tears.

She wanted to think about her nakama as much as she did not want to. It was a losing battle for the side not wanting to show she cared.

She took another heaving breath and closed her eyes. Emptying in her thoughts, she concentrated, reaching out throughout the large expanse of _Las Noches_ for the familiar sensation of each of her nakama's individual reiastu. Just like the last time she attempted, she felt nothing.

Yes, she was happy they left. The reason she came to _Hueco Mundo_ in the first place was for their safety. But she still could not say she was throughly shocked when Ulquiorra had informed her of their arrival. She truly felt overjoyed that moment they had come for her.

As such, their sudden departure left her hurt.

It felt as if her heart broke in two at the revelation. And Orihime knew why it had happened.

'_Kuchiki-san..._'

Sometime ago, Kuchiki Rukia's spiritual pressure had dropped in level. In fact, Orihime did not know how, but she saw in her thoughts her beloved nakama's impaled body.

It still was not enough to prepare her for Kurosaki Ichigo's sudden decision to depart with his comrades from the Hollow World.

Orihime had never felt so devastated. She did not need a brunette _Espada_ to tell her of her nakamas' actions. She had kept in check everything that went on since the moment Sado went down.

Each of the three spiritual pressures still standing fled from their respective positions, Uryu and Renji heading towards where Sado was laying while Ichigo headed for the fallen Rukia.

Minutes later, the three survivors gathered at one point outside of _Las Noches_, and at that point, Orihime lost track of them.

She could only conclude that they had by some means left.

From that moment until she was unexpectantly visited by her new caretaker, she was trying desperately to distract herself from the harsh truth. A part of her refused to believe her nakama, that _Ichigo_, had left her behind in the place she assumed they had come to rescue her from.

Someone she had not even met broke down that barrier she worked so hard to put up with that one sentence.

The breath she suddenly realized she was holding came out in a shuddering, feeble gasp.

She turned her glance back up and fixed her eyes on the moon.

'_But this is only for the best._' she thought. '_This way, the _Arrancars_ won't go after them like before._'

Maybe she felt rejected when Ichigo easily chose Rukia's safety over her own, but things work out to her original intentions.

Just as she told the one named Coyote Starrk...

"I don't regret coming here. Not one bit." she reminded herself. "So long as my nakama are safe."

She reassured herself this even as one last tear escaped her right eye.

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**A/N:** Chapter three completed a little later than usually. I had a hard time deciding what to put in this chapter, but I figured out exactly what and I'm actually proud of the way this came out.

I'd like to also take the time to say thank you to **Shadowstep-Prime** for adding this fanfiction to his/her favorite list.C: I feel honored. Once again, thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Quarters_**

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**_I do not own BLEACH._** (All seriousness put aside for a moment, I just realized I forgot to add the disclaimer to my earlier chapters. My bad.)

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_Enclosed space, indoors,_

_Inserting a barrier here_

_From the great outdoors_

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A minor shock came from out of nowhere and Orihime's eyes flew open. Black was all she saw for a moment, and it took a while for her mind to register anything else, though luckily through her depression, she managed to contain her normal exagerrating reaction to the situation.

The first thing to come to her was the incredible coolness she felt against her aching eyes, neutralizing the heat coming off of them. She moan in contentment just as the next thought informed her she had placed one of the couch's pillows on her face.

She soon recollected on prior happenings. Before, her body had eventually collapsed from exhaustion and she had laid down on her sofa for a nap when she had done the aforementioned action. The wonders it had done while she was out. She did not exactly feel much better, but at least her body felt refreshed.

As she lifted herself into a seated position, placing her feet firmly on the floor, a shiver unexpectantly sweeped through her as she felt another jolt in the air. A light sheen of sweat materializing, her nerves went on ends as she recognized the spiritual pressure agitating her.

Gray eyes widened. '_Wait a minute... this feels just like the reiastu of the _Arrancar_ from before._' The young woman turned her gaze to one of the room's wall, where she knew the entrance to her room was located, at the moment unseen to her eyes since it only became visible when someone outside came to visit her.

She gazed at the door with caution as she lifted herself from the comfortable furniture, taking slow, unsure steps towards the door. Closing her eyes for a moment, she sought out for the man's spiritual pressure. She could not understand for the life of her how she was suddenly in tune to the _Arrancar_'s spirit signature. Only yesterday she had actually met Coyote Starrk in person, though she has heard of him and had known of his _Espada_ status through Ulquiorra, but otherwise, she knew nothing else about the _Espada_, not even his rank.

Of course, she knew whatever precautions she took, it would not change the situation. Her hands unconsciously reached for her teal haipins. In comparison to the Hollows and their highly superior forms, she was an insect to there hurricane might.

But...

'_Surely, there's something you can do in the decisive battle. ...Lets look for it together, Inoue._'

Her eyes dimmed as she shut them close.

Thinking of herself as helpless would not get her anywhere, however.

The room began to disappear along with the weight of the mess she was trapped in, until nothing but darkness remained, surrounding her. Rather from a nervous habit than being frighten, she reached both of her hands forward, a perculiar warmth enveloping them and onward to the rest of her body as she started to reach more of it. She saw, or rather felt, the source of the heat, howbeit gentle. Two blue flames, one larger than its partner, gleamed a good measure away from her direction, and her revelation brought Orihime out of her lull.

'_I sense Starrk, but... instead of seeing just one spirit, I see two. Has my stay here thrown me out of shape?_'

She swallowed the breath somehow lodged in her throat and took another much needed one as she made her final choice.

She crept closer to the door and kept silent, curious to know whether her ears still function properly. Straining every nerve in being to catch the slight sound, she pressed her left ear against the wall.

"...and what are you going to do once you go through that door?" came a young feminine voice. Orihime's face fell nothing short of surprise to hear it, mouth gaping and eyes dilated.

"...I'll invited myself in and crash myself on that comfortable couch of hers." If it were possible, Orihime's eyes turned smaller at hearing Starrk's voice in companion with the girl's.

_SMACK_!!! "Ow! Lilynette, what was that for!?" Orihime looked at the wall in confusion. Was Lilynette the girl who accompanied him?

"For being you!! The hell is that!? You don't have any manners, you lazy turd!?_" SMACK_!!! The sound echoed this time around, and Orihime stepped away from the wall reflextively. With that last (apparent) hit, the auburn realized Starrk and this Lilynette were approaching her door. She wasn't certain their destination was her room, but better safe than sorry.

The door opened moments after she sat back down on the couch, and with her emotions already in turmoil, she met her unexpected visitors with an expected spectical face.

At the threshold stood the _Espada_ Starrk, his looming shadow catching her and a part of the couch in its bleakness. Even at its strongest peak, her curiousty could not urge her to meet the brunette's stare surely aimed at her; her gaze fell to his left side where she instead locked eyes with the _Arrancar_'s partner. Or rather, a pair and a loner.

While Orihime had heard the young girl's voice, her female-sightseeing in _Las Noches_ left her expecting most _Arrancar_ females to range between average height and gorgeous figures.

Lilynette was not what she had expected. Instead of a teenager with a noticeable bust, the _Arrancar_ was truly a young girl. She was shorter than the auburn herself, with short light green hair top by her hollow-mask remains in the form of a horned helmet, the left horn oddly broken. The bottom left half of the helm covers her left eye, leaving her with the right. Her attire consisted of a vest revealing her developing chest, fingerless gloves reaching past her elbows, a pair of briefs, and black-lined thigh-high white socks complimented by black white-fur-lined boots.

Her outfit curtainly spoke volumes, and left Orihime blushing at the aspect of a young-looking girl wearing such a thing.

For a moment, silence weighed over the room, with the auburn possessing no desire of questioning her temporary caretaker of his entrance.

"So that's Inoue Orihime," Lilynette spoke up first. Orihime detected wonder in the light voice.

"Yea, you happy now?" inserted Starrk with a yawn. The limehead responded his inquiry with a kick to the shin, both the victim, who hunched forward, and the prisoner flinching at the audible crack heard afterwords.

"You shut up! You forgot to knock on the door before entering you knucklehead!!"

Starrk scratched the head back of his head in what Orihime interpretted as his attempt in looking guilty. "Add to the books not to send me to matchmake."

Lilynette rudely snorted. "You matchmake? That leaves quite an image I don't want to see." The young female then aimed her one eye gaze to the other female and smiled.

Truly smiled.

Orihime was unaware of her mouth gaped open while the lime head strolled over towards her.

"Please to meet'cha, Orihime-chan. Name's Lilynette Gingerback." The young girl lifted her hand in an inviting way. A moment of staring wide-eyed at the innocently positioned limb transpired before Orihime snapped out of her stupor and took the small hand in her own.

"P-please to meet you too, Lilynette-chan." she stuttered. In her embarrassment, she didn't notice the blush cross over the girl's heart-shaped face.

White teeth were bared in a goofy smile as Lilynette let go of Orihime and clapped both of her hands in front of her. "Well, my introductions are out of the way. Might as well introduce ya to the lazyass over there." Shifting from a giddy to coarse as she turned to the sole male.

Starrk slowly lifted his hands up. "I already have. I'm not that rude--"

"--but dumb! You'll have to excuse him, Orihime-chan. He doesn't know how to treat us girls right."

The brunette huffed near silently. Orihime noticed this movement, seeing it as out of place, before turning back to Lilynette who sat down to her right next to her.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but Lilynette-chan, why are you here?" she asked.

"Aw, yeah! Sorry 'bout that, Hime-chan!" she chirped, jumping slightly on spot. "See, reason Starrk and I are here is 'cause we're moving in here."

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**A/N:** Chapter completed and once again uploaded late. Sorry about that. I got distracted again, plus my nieces would not sleep and leave me alone. But I'm done so, yeah!!

Did not want to end this chapter in a cliffhanger, but I already wrote a lot, and didn't wish to add more. Yeah, I caught the "Starrk-stigma" and got lazy. XD


	5. Chapter 5

**_Offense_**

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**_I do not own BLEACH._**

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_It takes more than just_

_Sticks and stones to break someone_

_And words do quite hurt_

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"Aw, hell no! We are not going through this AGAIN!!!!"

The next thing Starrk knew the pillow he placed on his face to block off the annoying presence of light in the human's room was pressed harshly against his mouth and nose.

_'Pillow, I trusted you..._'His grunt of annoyance wouldn't be heard over the thick screen of fabric, so he resorted to the only thing he could do at the moment.

He reached out in front of him and once his gloved fingers made guaranteed contact with small hips, he wriggled them around.

The pillow was quickly off him just as Lilynette fell face first on his chest.

"Waahahahahahahahahaha!!! Stop!! Stop!! That's - HA! - not fair!! Hehehehehehahaha!!" the limehead wheezed out, little droplets of tears exiting her eyes as the brunette continued to tickle her. Tiny fists were pounding inaudibly against his chest, almost as silent as Starrk's chuckle of amusment.

"All right, all right, I had my fun." He droned, hooking his hands beneath Lilynette's armpits, lifting her non-existent weight off of him as he rose from the sofa. Still carrying her, he walked over to the door, stopping only when he heard a quiet squeak at his left. More curious than surprised, Starrk aimed his gray eyes down to meet another pair of gray eyes.

"Hey, Hime-chan! You ready to go?" Lilynette waved to the auburn in white now below her. Said auburn's eyes widen again, before nodding in response, a tint of red dusting her cheeks.

"Hmm? We're going somewhere? I thought we were going to stay here and sleep." Starrk commented, regretting it afterwards when the little girl threw his head back with a bop to the chin.

"Figures you forget! We told Orihime-chan we would give her a tour of _Las Noches_!!"

"...We did?"

"Yes, we did. So are you going to put me down and escort Hime-chan out of her room?"

Starrk resisted the urged to roll his eyes, choosing instead to mockingly bow his head and obeying the young girl's latter demand. Feet firmly on the ground, the limehead glared up at him with her sole pink eye.

"Well?" She stomped her tiny foot on the floor for emphasize. The brunette groaned.

"You ask too much of me." One hand press later, the door opened their path to the hallway. He slowly spun on his foot around to the auburn and glanced down at her, an arm lifted from his left. "After you?"

Without meeting his eyes, the young human woman simply blushed again and took his spur, walking past with her head low. Lilynette brisked past him as well, though she looked up at him with a haze in her eye, before leaving too.

The brunette sighed loudly before following the females, the door automatically closing behind him, putting a little effort in keeping in step with them.

"So, Orihime-chan, do you like to read?" Lilynette asked randomly, inclining her head towards the other female.

He expected the girl's reaction to be of surprise. Most _Arrancars_ were thrown off balance by the unusual chatty female Hollow who was his partner, but he was the one shocked when Orihime turn to the limehead with a huge smile, eyes wide, and answered earnestly.

"I do! Books are fun, aren't they? They tell you all all sorts of things, like the news! Or better yet, you read things with fantasy and action and maybe a little bit of romance, too!"

He had never seen Lilynette's face shine as bright as it did now. "I know, right!? Books are awesome!"

At this point, Starrk shut himself away from the conversation taking place between them, knowing what was to transpiring would be a whole lot of nonsense of no concern to him. He let out a groan at witnessing in person the similarities of the auburn and his partner's personality. He couldn't bring himself to be shock, but it was unexpected to see Orihime so energetic after everything she went through, and, to top it off, smile.

Starrk frowned. As he continued to watch - but not listen to - the female pair, a large surge of irritation was finally permitted to revolt him. Through out the time he and Lilynette had entered the human prisoner's quarters, he inspected the whole interaction from the threshold. The whole time they were in their new place of resident, Inoue Orihime had not once spoken to him directly. Sure she had looked up a couple of times and he just so happened to meet her eyes during those moments, but other than that, she never addressed him. He felt oddly peeved off at this. Was he scaring the girl? Was that it?

Lilynette laughed out loud, tearing Starrk from his thoughts to see the two girls with heaving chests - one noticeable than the other - and with tears in their eyes. Orihime had both of her hands on her mouth, as if to stiffle her nevertheless audible laugh, looking better than she had in a while.

Pissed off or not, Starrk felt himself warm at the scene, and felt further touched at seeing both females in a good mood. He might not exactly be thrilled at Orihime's welcoming treatment, but he was sure glad to find someone other than himself communicating with Lilynette.

He felt childish for thinking this, but he wanted this moment to last.

Only now this wish wouldn't come true.

He reached out for the pair, grabbing both by the collars of their uniforms and shocking them with his sudden movement. Nevertheless, even Orihime understood the meaning and stopped as well as Lilynette.

"What's wrong, Starrk?" the limehead whispered. Her initial response was the narrowing of his eyes.

"We've got company." Was all he said, looking ahead.

Orihime looked at him in confusion while Lilynette's face adopted a look far too serious for her young face, and followed his gaze forward. The auburn saw this from the corner of her eye and did the same. Even at the angle her face was in, Starrk could clearly see sweat breaking into her skin.

Further onwards in the hallway, dragging an unknown object from behind was another _Arrancar_. A familiar one to Starrk. In fact another of the _Espada_. Short black hair escaped his one horned helmet concentrated on the left side. Large green eyes stood out from his white face, along with a streak of teal below each eye. He wore the standard white uniform, tail coats longer than the rest and his zanpakutou on his left side within his sash.

He was the _Cuarto Espada_, Ulquiorra Cifer.

Despite himself, though today was an unusual day for him as it was, Starrk put up a smile for the other. As expected, Ulquiorra didn't react to the gesture.

"Good evening, Starrk," Ulquiorra greeted plainly. "And you, too, Lilynette."

The limehead blushed and looked down, bringing a look of disbelief from Orihime.

'_I know how you feel, woman. One moment she's talking nonstop and all it takes is this man to shut her up._'

The gruff brunette huffed out his breath and took a step forward, not stopping till he was sure most of his body covered Orihime's from Ulquiorra's range of sight.

"How may I be of assistance, Ulquiorra?" he asked, a hint of courtesy in his voice, despite the earlier rejection.

The other brunette didn't answer, instead shifting his eyes over to Orihime, who was peering over Starrk's shoulder. The young woman shyed away from his glance. Ulquiorra continue to stare past Starrk before shifting his eyes back to gray ones.

"Out of curiousty, is she well-behaved enough you trust her out of her room?" he finally replied.

Starrk felt his lips twitch slightly at his words. "Are you concern for her?"

The ebony head simply closed his eyes. "Not really, but humans can be emotionally unstable in certain conditions."

Starrk felt Orihime tense behind him. Likewise, he felt his good mood evaporating.

"Ulquiorra, if you believe you can do a better job at watching over a human, you should've placed more of an agreement on your end against Aizen-sama."

It was Ulquiorra's turn to tense.

Silence fell over them, and for a moment, Starrk feared the worst out of the stoic _Arrancar_, though still feeling reassured it wouldn't happen. Nevertheless, he made up his mind quickly in what to do. He reached behind him and took Orihime's hand, the girl offering no resistance. He gestured the still blushing Lilynette to follow him. As he led the two past the rigid Ulquiorra, his eyes fell on the object he had dragged with him.

His eyes near immediately came off the sight.

"Who's that...?" He heard Orihime mumble. He swore as her words seem to also break Ulquiorra from his stiff posture. The ebony-head turned to look at the girl, now all exposed to him.

"None of your concern," he replied. While his words gave the impression of being final, he continue to study the auburn.

"That looks like Luppi-kun!" The young woman ignored him, and avoiding Starrk's hand, reached for the carcass of the former _Sexta Espada_. Lilynette scooted over to her side, bending forward and looking at the auburn in concern. Ulquiorra had been dragging the remaining half of the _Arrancar_, which hakama's was now covered with unknown contents of filfth. Starrk can easily guess which room Ulquiorra had taken this from.

"Woman, I told you it's none of your concern." the ebony said again. Gray eyes looked up and met green ones.

"Please, Ulquiorra-sama! Leave Luppi-kun with me!" She suddenly exclaimed.

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**A/N:** Late update is late! I seriously need to learn to quit distracting myself. Then again, this chapter ended up being longer than anticapated. Plus it's terrible and I no longer want to look at it! XD


	6. Chapter 6

**_Existence_**

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**_I do not own BLEACH._**

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_Life happens but once_

_The memories, only once_

_The person... just once_

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Silence fell over them again, this time accouched of Orihime's comment.

Ulquiorra's expression hadn't changed much, his green eyes still aimed at the young woman. Lilynette's expression changed from castdown to shock, her sole eye widen and also fixed on the auburn.

Only Starrk's sight wasn't steered towards the human woman, instead glancing at the lifeless half-corpse of the former _Sexta Espada_, Luppi. His eyes gazed sadly at his late nakama, masking his curiousty at Orihime's statement.

"Woman, are you deaf?" Ulquiorra spoke up first. "I said that is none of your concern."

"How can you say that!?" Orihime shouted, once again shocking everyone with her exclamation. "How can you drag around Luppi-kun like this!?"

"Orihime-chan..." Lilynette started, her face still colored with a light pink blush.

The human woman looked at the young girl for a moment before turning back to the half-carcass. She lifted both hands in front of her, directly above Luppi.

"**Souten Kisshun, watashi wa kyozetsu suru.**" She whispered. **_SHINN!!! _**and a flash of light orange light blinked for a moment as the hairpin holding back the right side of her hair dispersed into the air. Gently descending back to their mistress, the two winged creatures intersected for a moment before separating, the golden shield making up as Orihime's healing power forming between them, blanketing the area surrounding Luppi.

No words were exchanged between them as all eyes witnessed particles manifest within the shield, gathering at the stump, slowly constructing a solid form. He may had not shown it, but Lilynette's gaping mouth and small noise of surprise was enough to make known how incredible Orihime's actions were.

In a matter of moments, Luppi's body emerged beneath the golden shield.

The shield faded and the two winged creatures returned to their dormant forms, completing the auburn's hairpin. Orihime reached her hands around Luppi, bringing the _Espada_'s upper body closer to her.

His cheek twitched.

"Impossible..." Starrk breathed.

"No way..." Lilynette followed.

Ulquiorra sighed and turned slightly to face Orihime. "Woman, that was completely unnecessary. You were better off leaving the former _Sexta_ dead on the spot. You only caused him more suffering this way."

As if the comment burned her, Orihime's head whipped to his direction, anger obvious on her face. "How can you say that about your comrade!? You were there when he was killed, too, and that's all you can bring to say!? How could you!?"

He didn't even flinched at her outburst nor gave notice she even spoke as he continued. "What I am trying to say, woman, is that was--"

"--a completely fine thing to do, thank you very much."

Everyone, including Ulquiorra, turned to Starrk with wide eyes.

"Starrk..." Lilynette whispered. Person in question couldn't help the chuckle, as he thought over how recent events have left the young girl speechless, a rareity he seldom saw happen multiply times on the same day. He chuckled again as he looked at the unimpressed ivory-skinned.

"Sorry, but, seriously, Ulquiorra," Starrk stifled, sweaping a finger over a false tear in one closed eye, "if I recall, _I'm_ Orihime's caretaker."

His comment compelled a bellicose expressiong from the ebony-head.

Starrk brought his hands out in front of him. "Whoa, there! Hold your horses, boy! It's true. If she felt like doing that, that's fine by me. If she was still under your protection, you could've, of course, prevented that. But, really, what harm is there in this?"

His hands fell back to his side, one settling on Orihime's left shoulder, the owner looking back with gray eyes filled with gratitude. Starrk smiled.

"I am more than able in keeping Orihime under control. Don't worry about it, so calm yourself down." He finished looking back at the _Cuarto Espada_.

For a moment, Orihime felt a spark of their spiritual pressure collided and her heart felt at the sinister aura filled the air around them, making it heavy. She felt like suffocating from how dense and dreary it the atmosphere felt around them.

The lapse of time seemed eternal but soon the air lifted, as if nothing ever happened. The two _Arrancars_ continued to stare at one another for moments longer before Ulquiorra begun to move, turning away from the trio in a smooth movement, walking away to return to his original path.

"Very well. I'll leave you be." Ulquiorra stated. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I left an additional weight on your lap than, Starrk." With each word, the _Espada_ faded further into the darkest of the hall.

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**A/N:** Another chapter completed, once again late. I was, once once again, going to make this longer, but due to, once once once again, being distracted, this chapter ended up like this. I'm both satisfied and unsatisfied with it.

I'd like to give many thanks to **Blu Inu** for faving the fanfic. I'm honored.

I feel further honored in that I received my first review on the 9th. I can't express how happy I felt to see that.

**Ran:** I pleased to see you find the trio interesting and that I made it interesting for you. You really think I got Starrk and Lilynette's interactions down? Sweet. Orihime's my favorite character from **BLEACH** so I felt the urge to write a fanfic sort of alternate universe of her inteactions with the _Arrancars_, plus Starrk and Lilynette are my favorite _Espadas_, so the urge turned throwing those two into Orihime's life moreso than the manga did. Hope I don't let you down with this chapter.

Again, many thanks. Especially to those who go out of their way to read this.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Dabbles**_

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_**I do not own BLEACH**_

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_To hide your nature_

_Several try and fail. Why?_

_Just where are your eyes?_

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Orihime jumped slightly as Lilynette kicked the wall on the side of the door.

"Stupid Starrk!! Stupid! Stupid!! Stupid!!" Each word was followed by a harsh kick to the wall by a tiny foot. Orihime felt if she didn't say something soon, the wall would actually come down from the force of her kicks.

"Um, Lilynette-chan," she had only started, and the young girl immediately halted her actions, turning her head to look at her.

"S-Starrk-san said he was only going to be away for a few minutes. We should just wait for him, all right…?" she suggested uncertainly.

For a moment, she feared she had failed to calm the girl, but eventually, both arms settled on her sides, and she bowed her head as she began to chuckle deeply, in contrast to her usual voice.

She started to walk towards her, her strides surprising long given her legs, and she plopped herself down at Orihime's right side, another goofy smile on her face.

"Hime-chan, how do you feel about Starrk?" she asked.

Orihime blinked and gaped at the young girl, caught off guard and completely forgetting to answer until she realized she looked absolutely silly right now.

Her mouth shut back closed. "How do I feel about Starrk-san?" she repeated, noticing how Lilynette twitched slightly at her words. "Well…"

She truthfully didn't know where to start. In the beginning, she honestly feared the _Espada_, however…

After he came to her defense in the hallway minutes ago, she felt touched. The brunette had not only defended her from her former captor, but he also granted her permission to take Luppi under her care, hence why she and Lilynette were back in her room.

She looked over at the unconscious brunette, smiling contently at knowing he was safe. It wouldn't have been possible for him to be here if it weren't for Starrk.

She turned back to Lilynette, the smile still on her face. "I think Starrk-san is really nice, in fact, nicer than anyone I've met here so far."

The young girl giggled at Orihime's response before adopting a mock hurt look, and saying, "Oh, so you're saying Starrk's nicer than me, Orhime-chan? I see how it is."

Orihime laughed, seeing through Lilynette's joke. "Well, Starrk-san is certainly nice to you. Why wouldn't I say that?"

Lilynette sighed before continuing, "Mostly because he's such a lazy butt." She stood up for a moment, heading towards the door and lifting up a small white sack Orihime hadn't noticed before. "I mean, Starrk doesn't have the look of someone dangerous--" '_You can say that again._' "--but he still gives off the wrong vibe. People don't take him serious, and he's always sleeping! You can probably already think of what impression he'll leave with that crap!" The auburn resumed her giggling as Lilynette sat back down, seeing her point.

"Starrk-san seems to like to sleep a lot."

"Exactly!" Lilynette huffed in exasperation, hands thrown in the air. "If he'd get off his lazy butt every now and then, everyone wouldn't think so low of him!"

"Well, sleep does wonders to the body, especially if you're on a very comfy bed!" Orihime said dreamily.

"Auh, geez! You're starting to act like him!" the other girl exclaimed. With an amused snort, she turned back to the bundle she brought back with her. Thin, little fingers easily worked its way past the tight knot, freeing the bag as flowed gently to the floor.

Orihime stared at its content, completely and utterly stupidfied at what laid within.

"A...a make-up kit...?" she barely managed to word out.

Lilynette bursted into a loud laughter. "What's with the look on your face? You've never seen a make-up kit? Starrk brought it to me on what of his rare explorations of the human world. I was kinda hoping you'd..." The laughter died down, as well as the jubliant expression as she looked up at Orihime with a hopeful one.

To put it simply, Orihime felt touched beyond words. She had never imagined herself doing something as average as applying make-up to an _Arrancar_, of all people! For the first time in the longest time, she was speechless at the gesture. She instead found herself wordlessly grabbing some of the items within the emerald box, looking at the general lipstick and blush brush she picked up.

"I'm not very good at putting it on really," Lilynette continued speaking, as if she was unaware of Orihime's predicament. "I've tried these out with Apache, Sun-Sun, and Mila-Rose, and they were really good at it." She felt uncomfortable with Orihime's lack of response but progressed forward. "I really wanted to try it out with you. Maybe you can give me some pointers while we're at it..."

While Lilynette murmured her reasons, tears began to develop behind Orihime's lids, shocking her back to reality. The long days she was trapped in _Las Noches_ had left her with such little hopes of ever returning to her halcyon days, and here a hollow in the guise of a young girl was offering a moment together.

She felt so...

"I'd be happy to show you, Lilynette-chan," Orihime sniffed happily.

The young girl nearly missed hearing those words, but she stop her chattering once her mind received the message. She couldn't have stop the large grin from erupting on her face if she wanted. Letting her glee take over, she pounced on the healer, who squeaked in surprise, and proceeded to hug her.

"Thank you, Orihime-chan!" She chanted over and over before looking up, her sole eye glowing. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Orihime began to laugh again, patting the young girl on her helmet with one hand while the other reached for the make-up kit. "All right then! Lets get stated!"

"Yes!" Lilynette hollered, pumping her tiny fist in the air. A moment later, her pink eye went wide and her grin fell. As her arm fell back to her side, however, the grin returned in full force and both hands rubbing against one another. Orihime felt she saw a hint of impish delight sparked in her sole eye, but felt unsure as it deluded her for a moment.

"Hey, Hime-chan?" Lilynette snickered.

"Y-yes, Lilynette-chan?"

"Maybe we should take a side trip before we use these on ourselves, huh?" Lilynette offered a finger to her left.

Orihime's eyes followed.

"Huh!?"

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**A/N: **Cliffhanger! *dundundunDUN!!!!* But, no seriously, I'm so sorry for the wait. I got distracted (AS FRICKIN' USUAL!!!!!) by some awesome fanfic, and spent the weekend reading them, when I should've been doing homework and/or writing my fanfic. Hahaha... But, truthfully, the other half of the reason for this late update is because I had a hard time deciding what to write on this chapter. I'm slightly unsatisfied of the way it came out, but it's only about one-sixteenth of unsatisfaction. C:

**Blu Inu:** You're welcome! You were the first to fave, and all!^-^ Had to give you props.;D

**Little-Kitty-Momo:** Thank you! Glad you find it interesting and that I did well on it! Are you talking about StarrkxOrihime? Because if you are, yes, indeed it is rare. Not to many fanfics. I had to justify that!D: Aw, really? I'm so happy that I managed to spread the Starrk-and-Lilynette love!3 They are both teh super special awesomeness!:D

Thank you all who go out of their way to read the fanfic!


	8. Chapter 8

_**Bothersome**_

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_**I do not own BLEACH.**_

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_Penetrative knives_

_Cutting through borrowed beliefs_

_Planting seeds of doubts_

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The halls of _Las Noches_ were quiet, and were he any other person, he would have embraced the moment.

Even a regular _Arrancar_ could sense how misplaced the tranquility was.

His face gave off no signs of attentive mind, but he knew his stalker knew of his awareness. He simply continued to walk back to his (former) quarters, a small childish part of him he blames Lilynette for installing within urging him to lead his fellow _Arrancar_ on. He knew it would tick him off. He simply had to drag it out the teasing. His advesary would not surrender easily, so he might as well enjoy the few leading moments to his quarters.

It was a simply invitation, leaving the door opened and unguarded. As he leisurely strolled around his room, drinking in the sight of it one last time (at least for a while), he confronted difficulty in maintaining the blank stare threatening to develop into an amused one as he practically felt in waves his visitor's indecisive battle with his emotions. It was sick, the amusment he felt out of this little game.

At last, his patience was rewarded at the hand of his guest's willing admission of his presence. Which of course he already knew he was aware of.

"Ulquiorra." Starrk greeted delightfully with a smile.

At this point, in his teasing mood, he was prepared when the ebony answered instead of his usual tendency of not doing so. With a question, of all things. "Why have you left the woman alone, Coyote Starrk?"

The use of his full name knocked Starrk a couple of pegs, but his smile and good humor remain nonetheless as he approached his fellow _Espada_. "Lilynette is with her. That is enough protection." He stopped for a moment, looking up thoughtfully. "Or at least a warning." He amended.

The ebony-head didn't look amused in the least. "For one who was so intend to take my place, you sure are relaxed. Not worried in the least she will be snatched from under your watch. I didn't _have_ to follow you."

Starrk smirked despite himself. "But you didn't. How unlike you."

Ulquiorra ignored him as if he hadn't spoke. "I am aware of how you personally requested for this duty from Aizen-sama.

Starrk closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling his breathe through his nose as the moment he dreaded came. When grey eyes met green, the very air itself froze in anticipation of the two powerful _Espadas_ confronting one another. His smile, however, never left him as he stared the smaller man down.

"If you didn't want me to get involved, you should have kept to your line as well, Ulquiorra." He supplied.

He retaliation, Ulquiorra actually snapped at him, "I _was_ fulfilling my duty. To rid ourselves of the presence of the intruders so they would not approach any further to our captive."

Any other _Arrancar_ would have been taken aback by the seemly tactical planning.

"You affiliated with Szyael Apporo Granz." Starrk said matter-of-factly, smile still intact, though the humor long left it.

What amused him more was that Ulquiorra didn't deny it. "It's only natural to take advantage of Kuchiki Rukia's fall to send them off. The substitue shinigami was not as determined as he thought he was."

His final words finally managed to knock the smile off of Starrk's face.

"The woman was under my juridisction. I know not what Aizen-sama saw in you that persuade him to let you take my place. If I were there, I would ensure no reached their hands on our lord's guest."

A low growl went through the air as Ulquiorra final realized his host had reached a turning stone.

"You do realize... it's because of you that Orihime is sad now?" Starrk bit out, his face half-twisted, but nevertheless unfailing in delivering its angry message. The brunette clenched his fist tightly, vaguely aware of the clothed wall between his digging nails and the vulnerable skin of his palm. "That poor woman has been drenching herself in tears since the moment I walked into her room. You were right about one thing: she is strong. She refused to meet my eyes at all since I was there, and looking at you now, I realize why."

"Starrk, we are not here to baby the human," Ulquiorra cut in sharply. "Did you really expect me to comfort her the time I spent with her?"

Starrk scoffed, his glare shifting downward as things began to connect.

"Aizen-sama had assigned me to watch her so I could break her spirit. For all its worth, the human woman truly has some fascinating abilities that could be put to use. We needed to reign her, discourage her hopes of freedom, and what better way to accomplish it by letting her face ultimate betrayal?"

His anger continued to expand, but Starrk forcible withheld it as a smirk quirked his lips. "However, you still went over the line, Ulquiorra." He said. "Even with all the **_trash_** you spout about Aizen-sama's strength, you still went off to kick out the intruders yourself, dastard."

By this point, Ulquiorra himself has also spent the last of his control, resorting to heatingly glare at the _Primera_ who begun to walk, following him move towards the room's entry. Even when he walked past the corner of his eyes, he continued to eye the direction he crossed.

"Ulquiorra." His voice sounded from behind. The ebony-head gave no oral sign of acknowledging him, only closing his eyes as the other presence's began to fade away from him.

"I'm only saying this once."

The words remained in the air for a moment.

"Stay the hell away from Orihime." The words were practically snarled.

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**A/N:** Chapter finished. Late because of unnecassary mistakes I made these last few days, add that with having to babysit two nieces on Thursday. Whew! This chapter bores me, even though I like how it came out. Probably because there's no action, but there's not suppose to be any... Still, maybe I can experiment later.

**Blu Inu:** :D May the fanfic continue to entertain you!

**Little-Kitty-Momo:** Okay.^-^ Adorable and interesting if you let your imagination soar. The -unforunately- good thing about Kubo-sensei not elaborating on Starrk's character. You get to insert your own thing.:D Thank you! And this chapter answers your thought.!XD

I'd like to say thank you to **Anksunamun-chan** for favoriting the fanfiction. I feel honored. C:

And another shout out thank you to those who go out of their way to read it!


	9. Chapter 9

**_Surrender_**

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**_I do not own BLEACH._**

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_A simple spirit_

_Tilts an any direction_

_When maimed a little_

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No sort of frustration placed any rush into his steps as he headed towards the web of corridors Orihime's room was located. It was actually impressed by himself; he manage to regain his composure from the direction he original came from. Maybe the walk was doing some good. Or maybe it was the anticipation of what was ahead.

He mused to himself as he supplied the answer to his thoughts: women.

And not just any girls. One of them meant as much as his own life to him, and the other...

How tempting it was for him to stop in the middle of the hallway to ponder the thought of Inoue Orihime's meaning to him. He'll admit the human woman was interesting, but just where did she stand in his mind?

As of right now, he had just same her neck from Ulquiorra's ever watching eyes. Twice, in fact. One too many time, all in all.

His eyebrows scrunched together as he continued to think about the auburn woman, but in all of honesty he can righteously muster, it was becoming tiresome to think. He had already spent more energy than what he usually applied, and he felt truthfully exhausted. The only thought making any distinct sense in his mind was his desire to crash once he reached Orihime's room.

The only obstacle to that goal was Lilynette, but as before, he refused to think about it. The thought was to horrible to comprehend in the first place.

Starrk attempted to suppress the shudder coursing through him as he the indention of the girl's door entered his line of vision. With a lazy grunt, he lifted an arm, pressing the hand on the area its located.

With a quiet noise, the door slide open.

"Hey, ladies. I'm bac--."

The greeting die before the final word came out as a whole.

Never had Starrk's eyes dilated to the point they reached at that mind-blowing moment. A small coating of sweat actually broke out on his forehead as he measured the situation as much as his shock-filled being could muster.

His mouth gaped opened for several seconds before his voice returned as a croak, slowly and eventually becoming clearer as his head supplied his excitement again.

"What the hell have you done!?" He half-shouted, taking an uncertain step forward. Was this for real!?

"Hey, Starrk! You're back!" greeted none other than Lilynette, fully turning from her seat on the couch to look at her partner. The young girl waved at the brunette fanatically with both arms, the biggest grin he ever seen spread out on her face. She was practically glowing in her excitement as she hopped off the white furniture, taking a step away from her seat, approaching the other occupant of the lounge.

Orihime's face was an intriguing shade of red, her eyes averting his own possibly in embarrassment at being caught. In her - not to mention Lilynette's - hands were cosmetics; an eye shadowing brush in her right hand, and mascara in the other. Both girls were surrounding the receiver of the unwanted make-up treatment, their experiment and entertainment purpose since he was gone..... and he pity the poor soul with every fiber of his being.

"What... the hell... have you done to Luppi...?" Starrk stuttered near-incoherently. He was still (visible, at that) shaking at what he had witnessed the second he entered the room.

The fore-mentioned _Arrancar _laid on the couch, mercifully unconscious to his involvement in the girls' project. Coated on his eyelids was a teal green eyeshadow accented with the mascara Orihime held in her hand. His cheeks stood out from his pale face due in part to the light pink blush applied there, coupled with his raspberry colored lips.

No words could describe the new wave of horror seeping through Starrk.

"Hello, Starrk!" Lilynette chimed, waving a small hand in front of the frozen statue of an _Espada_. The lack of response urged Lilynette to turn to her friend still seated behind her, shrugging her thin shoulders and prompting a nervous giggle from Orihime. She shrugged again and turned back to the towering man.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, STARRK!!!" she yelled, jumping and slamming her leg onto his hip for further emphasize. The reaction almost instantaneous, Starrk barked in pain, stepping back in shock from both the physical contact and sharp pain. He only managed to glanced down at his tiny assistant for an instant before his fist had an abrupt meeting with her fist.

"Damn it!" He hissed, clenching his nose, the poor receiver of the punch, with both hands. "Lilynette, that was frickin' uncalled for!!"

"Reply to people next time, then," the girl said unmercifully. Her face in a deadpanned expression and both arms crossed across her flat chest, one foot tapped on the floor in a sort of impatient manner as she resumed. "Keep people waiting like that, and they'll question your mind state. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with _you_?" Starrk countered, his voice half-muffled by his hands, making his incredulous look and tone comical rather than serious. "What has Luppi done to deserve such an awful punishment as _that_!" He pointed towards the direction of the white couch, noting Orihime huddled over the violet _Arrancar _with a cloth. He managed to educe a half-smile before it quickly fell at another of Lilynette's onsets.

"You don't speak to a lady like that! How many times do I have to frickin' tell you that!?" She growled, pressing her small foot against his after abruptly stomping on it previously. "And what's wrong with what we did to Luppi!?" Starrk scratched the back of his head with a visible winced from the pain.

"I can't speak for him since I don't know him that well, but it's painful for a fellow man to see him like this. Can't you relate?" He seemed to be making a lot of wrong choice of words today. A second after he stopped, he wished to take the words back, just as two thin fingers slipped into his tunic and gave his stomach muscles a stinging pinch.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear hat," Lilynette snarled lowly, ignoring the large hands grasping her skinny arm. "The latter, I mean. You seriously want to come at me with your male bullcrap speech, I might as well even the score." A devilish smirk slid on her face as she pulled out a tube of lipstick from inside her vest, and looked up at the slowly paling face of her superior.

"Aw, shi--" Interrupting the oral curse, Lilynette pounced on him, legs hooking on his shoulder, while she wrapped her remaining arm around his head, bringing it to her chest, chin first, forcing the brunette to glance up at her.

"You hold still!" She yelled.

"Like hell!"

"I'm gonna mess it all up!"

"Keep that thing away from me!"

"Pansy!"

Orihime observed the whole ordeal in wide-eyed wonder, having finished removing the last of the make-up moments ago, though not finding it in her to snatch up her blonde friend's attention. She turned instead at the sleeping brunette beside her, a soft smile emerging in her face. As she focused on Luppi's small face, her face suddenly scrunched up as she released a mildly loud yawn. It truly wasn't that loud, but just audibly enough for it to interrupt the playful fight in the distance; both participants stared back at her with perplexed complexion.

"Orihime-chan, was that you?" Lilynette gawked.

A tint of red brushed the auburn's cheeks. "With all the excitement, I didn't realize before how exhausted I am."

Behind the blonde, Starrk continued to stare at Orihime with his lidded eyes. A part of Orihime told her under normal circumstances she would most likely be unnerved by the glare, but the young woman noticed how the man's eyebrows were scrunched as if in concentration or confusion. For all its weirdness, the gesture actually soften her emotional turmoil.

'_Does he actually care for me? Not because Aizen ordered him to, but for real?_'

The blush spread, and Orihime bowed her head, hair veiling her face. "I think I'll take another nap."

"Mind if I join you?" _WHAM!!_"Ow!" Despite his (unintentionally) hand on her prior predicament, she giggled at Starrk and Lilynette's antics.

"Thinking about sleep all the time... Bastard!" Lilynette's voice seemed to be getting closer, spurring the lifting of her head. She meet the pink eye forward as the young girl stopped in front of her, an expression of concern pasted on her face. "You do look tired, Hime-chan. Sorry for not noticing sooner."

The young woman shook her head enthusiastically. "Don't worry about it, Lily-chan." The little girl's expression brighten a little at hearing the desired nickname.

"We can play some more tomorrow, then. In the meantime, a little rest wouldn't hurt, _right_, Starrk?" She turned her head, venom dripping on a particular word.

Said man turned his head away. "Right."

Orihime would've promised anyone she literally saw a vein appear on Lilynette's forehead.

With astonishing speed never before witnessed by the auburn, Lilynette launched herself to the sleepy brunette, hands in front of her, possibly prepared to scratch Starrk's eyes.

She never made it. The next moment, Starrk's hand was in the air, his thumb and index finger flicking upward in a familiar signal.

The black space known as the _Garganta _zipped open, and from its dark depths of reishi came...

...a horde of green pillows.

For thirty solid seconds, Lilynette reacquainted herself with the floor within the pillow mound.

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**A/N:** Apologies on the epically late update. See, when you're me you like to leave your school projects for the last minute, and then scramble to get them done when the due date's approaching. I've got three assignments I've got to do, two being book assignments and the other art contribution. The art one I haven't even started on due to me constantly being distracted by the art room's computers.:C So, yeah, the next chapter won't be up until the end of the week or Sunday because of my busy week.

**Shadowstep-Prime:** I'm pleased to learn I left you speechless. I will!

**AmIOtaku:**Thank you. I will (to you, too!) because you're right; there aren't that many fics about these two. It's partly because of that reason I started this fic. It really is a mystery to me why, too, because in comparison to Rukia, Orihime interacted with Starrk, however limited it was. Yet, there's more Starrk-x-Rukia fics than Starrk-x-Orihime.:C Well, that's crack pairing to I feel kinda cocky for saying this, but I sincerely hope this fanfic will inspire others to write their own Starrk-x-Orihime so we can read more.C: Yes, the typing errors scar my mind. I need to go back and fix them when I'm off this hectic week. Also thank you adding the fic to your favorites.:D

Also like to thank **Mondaysnoon13 **for alerting the fic.^_^

Thank you to everyone else for reading this! Don't think y'all aren't appreciated, cause y'all are!X3


	10. Chapter 10

_**Whisper**_

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_**BLEACH does not belong to me.**_

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_Silent as the breeze_

_Words with no meaning flow forth,_

_Threading with no course._

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Eventually, the night slid into a quiet end. At first, Lilynette didn't stay still. With the green pillows flying in all directions, she assaulted Starrk again, though the lazy brunette was prepared at this point. When the girl lashed onto his torso, he encircled his arms around her, squeezing her at any sign of retaliation - perceptibly expected. After several choice words Orihime was shocked to hear from the girl, she settled enough to question Starrk about sleeping arrangements.

When his guard lowered, Lilynette's revenge came in the form of a kick to Starrk's stomach.

After Orihime finally chose to insert herself between Starrk and further pain, she and Lilynette took over in thinking up of a suitable sleeping arrangement for the four of them, since Luppi of course was included.

With the help of the moonlight, sitting up Orihime traced the outline of objects in her room as she laid on her side of the white couch on the left. On the other end, low breath audible to her ears, was Lilynette. Her stature didn't really leave much of a challenge to where she would sleep (plus she would let Starrk sleep by Orihime over her dead body!).

The settee basically swallowed her thin figure, her lime-green hair lain around her head like a glowing halo. She looked so innocent, like a true child, the air of an _Arrancar _utterly dispelled. Orihime pondered for a moment, taking notice, on how she slept without a blanket. A Hollow she may be, but the night was slightly chilly.

After sufficient mind-wandering, she turned her head left. On the other side of her room, spread out on a layout were the resident male _Arrancar_. Luppi laid on his back, reminding Orihime, with a giggle, of a (pretty!) male, petite Sleeping Beauty since both his hands were on his belly. It gave her the impression of restful sleep, which by all means was true, as she assured herself the feminine _Espada_'s health should slowly, but surely, be restoring.

She sighed in relief, eyes also noticing the returning color on his pale face. They inched to the right, sweeping past the gleaming ebony hair to the looming white of a hakama.

In an instant, Orihime's eyes strayed to the elderly visage of Coyote Starrk. Just as earlier before, the brunette previously placed a cushion on his eyes, though it eluded her the purpose, since the lights were no longer on. His mouth hung open, his snores loud though not loud enough to be an annoyance, not that it would have annoyed her. Both arms hung away from his side, the noticeable on the edge against the floor. Even she could tell he was knocked out.

'_Boy, does he love to sleep..._' she thought defiantly as she yawned, face scrunching up tightly and small droplets of tears escaping her eyelids. She lifted her arms up with a low grunt, bringing them back to her sides gracelessly thoughts aimed towards slumber. An equally low sigh brushed past her lips as she rested against the couch.

Without much effort, sleep descended on her consciousness profoundly and she was lost. And yet, she found herself within the shelter of her mind, or what she thought was her mind. Because she sure wasn't asleep.

She saw blank, felt close to numb since she couldn't feel her body at first, but she knew she was whole at least. It seemed like she was floating, and moving, slowly, along the blank mass. Her only comfort was the presence of her conscious, which gently reached out and caressed her through her numbness.

'_Is this the realm of sleep or not?_' Orihime thought. '_Why does it feel... empty, yet... warm?_' Her senses reacted slowly, but she knew it surrounded her. With such a strong feeling sweeping over her so swiftly, she nearly doubted its existence. To her, the atmosphere drenched her, snuggled her, yet she sensed no risk in suffocating from the too much of it. She felt quite calm and content touching it, definitely at peace. Her mind began to swerve with those thoughts, distrust gnawing her inner signals as she continued to willingly embrace the warmth, the siren intensely urging away from the alien intensity.

'_Just let me stay a little longer..._' she weakly thought, tears once more forming (were they her real tears?). The need to scream in frustration of her feebleness was strong. However, with the emergence of her tears made her question the reliability of this soothing presence. Despite her longing, she begun to withdraw from the object of comfort, and almost instantly felt the violent strain against her.

,,_**Stop**_''

With that one word, the meaning actually took form.

,,_**Stop crying, woman.**_''

She sniffed, her eyes suddenly shutting against the anxiety of the strange... voices? '_Who is this? It sounds like Tsubaki... Ayame, Lily, Hinagiku, Baigon, Shun'ou?_'

The warmth intensified, and the familiar sensation of her **Shun Shun Rikka** eased away her stupor. All six surround her, calmed her, and color began to drift back and fill. She couldn't see the change, but how she FELT it. Orange and blue blended and blurred, as if life were returning, to her conscious of all things. What a change to the former dullness!

,,_**Much better...**_''

The changes went almost unnoticed; she sunk into the colors, drifting off while she welcomed the return of the gentle touches of her thoughts. Her head felt lighter and lighter as she felt the comfortable blanker of sleep took over as was ordinary.

,,_**It's good to see you calm down, young lady.**_''

,,_**Don't be so harsh!**_''

,,**_Don't get me wrong! You just look and feel better when you've calmed down._**''

,,**_A smile... look at that smile._**''

The smile grew wider as those voices continued to speak, now echoing around her, though just like earlier before, she could not if even if she tried to locate their origin. It worked fine either way; for them to stop would leave her lost in her own essence.

,,_**Worry not, Orihime. We're here for you.**_''

,,_**We'll never leave your side, my lady.**_''

,,**_Just get your act together!_**''

,,_**Clear your mind and relax...**_''

She giggled, relieved, at hearing Tsubaki and the other voices. Their tiny spiritual signature attached themselves to her again as her body begun to still heavily, though the echoes, now distant, remained. They dragged her further into herself, one entity above and around her, coating her with their warmness.

,,**_You just sleep now, little lady._**''

,,**_We'll care for you._**''

,,**_And serve you._**''

,,**_You already know that._**''

,,**_No matter the problem, you just leave it to me!_**''

,,_**Relax, Orihime.**_''

,,**_You're truly not alone._**''

'_Oh, my..._' and the tears came unforeseen just as those words. It didn't tire her anymore. Even as he body trembled from the half-sobs, notihing could disturb her. At last her bopdy surrounded itself to sleep the **Shun Shun Rikka**'s voices softly tinkling her conscious, mixed among themselves until one whole sound emerged.

,,_**Sleep well, Orihime.**_''

And the orange and blue stirred into a single mass.

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**A/N:**Late update is mega-ly late update. Would've updated this last week if it weren't for distractions again. Oh, the bright side (even if it doesn't look like it), I unleashed a Trojan on my laptop, so now I have no more Internet. Now I have no more distractions, and no more excuses, to write my story on paper. I'm already starting the new chapter now, so it should be up tomorrow or the day after.C: Anyway, this chapter is rather boring, but if you squint hard enough, you'll see context clues.:D

**Mondaynoon13:**Glad to hear it.:D You deserve it since I myself feel special for having the fic favorited by you. Thank you.^_^

**ShelbyQueen25:**Awesome! Starrk better beware cause Lilynette will not rest! *evillaugh* I intend to do that now. Wish me fortune.:D

Thank you, everyone, for reading this!!:D


	11. Chapter 11

_**11. Miracle**_

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_**I do not own BLEACH.**_

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_Mortals always dream_

_In there, the impossible_

_Is not limited._

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A single pink eye flew open and stared in the direction of the ceiling, the face it was trapped on visibly sulking with a small pout. Her eye stung slightly, but otherwise, Lilynette refused to go back to sleep. Besides, her eye stung from opening it, not from lack of sleep.

Lilynette hated sleeping. She always wished to be in action rather than the other way around. Maybe it had to do with her dominant soul being a child, but it clearly was a particular practice she willingly embraced and annoyed Starrk with. Though there were times when she wished she hadn't been 'born' a child, it had its good points.

With a light grunt, she tossed her legs over the border of the couch, setting it down as she arched back, arms up and stretched. No one could tell her she didn't sleep at least, even though as an _Arrancar_ she didn't need it. Slapping down both hands beside their respectable hip, she stood up and waltzed around the couch, stopping by Orihime first, and freezing in place.

One word summed her reaction to what she saw: fascination.

There was no daylight, no room light, so the room was quite dark with the usual moonlight piercing the shade. She felt like slapping her hand on her head for not noticing before, due to her distractions from her thoughts. The pale moonlight reflected off of Orihime's peach skin and she //_shone_//. Lilynette couldn't even imagine at that moment of the delicate radiant luminosity's origins and possible purpose; all she could think was that Orihime looked so charming, glowing the way she did. The room illuminated barely with her radiance, coupled with the moonlight for a sort of heavenly glow -- or at least, 'heavenly' in the lime-head's terms.

'_She's so… pretty!_' Lilynette faltered in an intense moment of feeling from how radiant the human girl looked like. She never felt so moved before. Sure, there were pretty attractive female _Arrancar_ in _Las Noches_, but Orihime…

While _Arrancar_'s spiritual pressure were hard, solid, and gave off waves of menacing aggression, Orihime's was gentle. Even Lilynette's own small spirit signature didn't even compare.

Did she envy her? Of course not! Not Lilynette! If she had to say it in words, Orihime's gentle spirit soothed the lime-head's -literally- tortured soul.

With one more quick look at the human girl, Lilynette turned and headed towards the green section of the room. A little more pep in her step than the norm, she landed softly on her caretaker's belly. The young looking _Arrancar_ tugged hard on the Primera's tunic as she yelled, "Wake-up, Starrk! Wake-up! You've got to see this!"

She thought about stabbing her elbow into Starrk's stomach, but she was shocked when the brunette took hold of her shoulder with one hand, the other taking hold and lifting off the pillow on his face. One eye opened, and the gray-blue orb locked with the pink sphere floating above.

"Whoa," Lilynette breathed, her sole eye small in wonder. "I think that's the first time you actually woke up so quickly."

"Do I get a reward?" Starrk inquired, as he sat up holding the lime-head against him. His eyes wander off to the sole couch, now glowing such a faint, but glorious orange. Though he knew better, his face showing absolutely no sign of awe (if a raised eyebrow counted at all), he almost thought the actual real world sun which he only thought of seeing in the Human World had suddenly emerged in _Hueco Mundo_.

"The things that happen while I'm asleep…" he muttered.

"But I was awake for a while, and I just noticed that now, too," The young girl offered. The twp stared at the phenomena for awhile, sharing a rare peaceful moment with one another as they drank in the sight in each other's arms. Lilynette, for one, felt odd as she continued to stare, enthralled by the glowing nymph. Something weighed on her chest, so much her shoulders began to quiver at how heavy it felt. Her body was soon shaking all over against the larger body it cuddled to.

"I don't understand, though," Lilynette's words sounded small, but Starrk heard everyone of them. "I don't sense anything coming off of her."

"No, Lilynette."

"Huh?" She glazed up at Starrk in question.

He contemplated his answer in his head before saying, "Her spiritual pressure is being compressed, not exactly to the point of hiding, but as if it's gathering within herself."

At this, Lilynette stilled in her shivering.

Starrk continued. "You can compare what's developing inside her to a _Cero_, when you built up its power in one point before releasing it." Starrk loosen his hold on the _Arrancar_ in his embrace as he calculated the glowing wander. "This girl is just one spectacle after another."

"As if that will cover everything."

Even Starrk froze up slightly, whilst Lilynette jumped and shrieked lightly, when the soft-spoken voice came up. The gray-eyed man turned to acknowledge the petite brunette, still lying on his back against the cushions in the same place he was left in the night before. His large mauve eyes were downcast, both figuratively and literally, as he studied the _Primera_. Both of his small hands were visibly tense, exposed from his long sleeves, nails digging into the surface beneath. Gray eyes didn't miss the small, near nonexistent shivers off the slim body.

"Just what is she…?" The former _Sexta_ growled, turning to his side, to the left, aiming his lost gaze at the sole human across the room.

Starrk perceived it before it happened.

A pillow arrange an unfortunate few inches, Lilynette lean back in pain, clutching her rear end, which had suffered cruel impact with the floor. She didn't give herself time to recover, however and got to her feet, staggering from the dizzy spell. Reminding herself she'll take out her anger of the toss on Starrk later, she focused her one-eye gaze on the other side of the room.

Colors of jade peppered the otherwise dark room, but standing furthermore were the two _Espada_; one hutched forward in the center of the room, the other towering over the sofa.

Luppi snarled at Starrk from the center of the room, getting to his feet none too easily, Lilynette noticed, vaguely recalling he was recovering from, well, death. Though, at the moment, his face was twisted in such a frightening way, it obscured his outer beauty.

"How can you defend that thing!?" He roared. "That monstrosity!!?" How can that awful thing be standing in the same place as us!!? _Ese monstro_!!?"

The dark swelling of anger developed inside, as Lilynette's own small face tightened disturbingly.

But if her face shown anger, she didn't know how to describe Starrk's.

The _Primera Espada_ gave Luppi a nasty glare, were it any other situation would've sent his opponent to his knees from the intensity. However, his challenger was equally angry, which was his safeguard, so Starrk merely held their locked gaze for a second longer before he _Sonido_'d away, scooping Orihime in his arms in advance.

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**A/N:** I'm not even going to bother apologizing because I say it every chapter. I will say this again, though: Late chapter is LATE!!! The chapter half-sucks and isn't worth y'all's wait (have you SEEN how short it is?????). But it's hard getting on my sister's password-protected computer, intent on chapter typing and later net surfing into the night, but unsure if you need to wake up early to take care of your niece the next day.|C I'll try to update again this weekend, but if I don't, the next one.

**ShelbyQueen25:** My work was not in vain if I got the desired effect on you.C: Will I be introducing other _Espada_…?|3 Should I answer that…?X3

Hey, **BLEACHBarbie**, I'm keeping my eyes on you.;D I want to read your fanfic, so give me the heads-up when you post it!! Thank you for the fav!

**Drawg360!** Thank you for the alert!:D

Everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read!


	12. Chapter 12

**_12. More_**

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_Many other times_

_Your desires recklessly grows_

_Entering freely_

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She stood there, between the brink of conscious- and unconsciousness, a fierce battle of tug-o-war, that for seemly endless moments raged within the depths of her mind. It dragged out, taking up the expanse of her thoughts before finally disrupting, dispersing like dust, as her perception won out and pushed away the screen of sleep away. Each second slowly brought more weight over her once light being, filling her up.

She never noticed how empty she was, her mind forgone before. Warmth spread around where her face should be, the numb feeling abandoning her. She liked it, loved it really, if the smile on her face were any indication. Because the warmth brought everything she knew back: her movements, her remembrance of appearance, her memory. Her thoughts flashed again, to open her eyes, and so she did.

At first, she thought she was blind, because all she could see was white. But her recovering made out bounding lines of the cringing bed a small nightstand and a pot of flowers, equally white.

Though she noticed with some oddity how there appeared to be a brown sort of foam surrounding the white floral.

She blinked a number of times, confused at the foreign object's placement, sitting up and pushing back the white sheets on top of her (It's funny how she didn't feel the least bit sweaty when she was wearing a rather heavy _white_ outfit.), settling herself in a much more comfortable position. Now it was better.

The brown fluffy mass belonged to someone, she noted in mild shock. Her still weak eyesight took its time picking out the dark skinned woman in white sitting back against the wall. Both arms and legs were folded, and her slit eyes hide her green eyes behind long lashes.

She cocked her head to the side as she study the amazon's arms. "_How muscular…_" she thought, as those green eyes watched her back. The crossed leg left it spot and fell downward, where she jerked it forward in a kick. "Ow!" A shrill cry pierced the air. The girl jumped back just as a blue hair woman emerged from the side of the bed, her face twisted in rage. Orihime barely caught the look, though; the white horn sticking from the woman's forehead was attention grabbing.

"The hell was that for bitch!" she yelled a gloved hand in a fist, the other rubbing the back of her head, presumably where she had been kicked.

"The human's awake," The insulted woman replied flatly, head flicking to the fore mention girl.

"Oh, really? I never noticed." A voice answered from behind. Orihime turned and saw another woman, one with green long hair decorated with a single white hairpin. Under her right eye were three pink eyes. The rest of her face was obscured by the long sleeve of the white dress she wore. "She's been so silent this whole time." Her voice, she noticed, wasn't even the least bit muffled by the offending material.

If she expected a reply, she didn't receive any. The young woman stared in wide-eyed curiosity at her strange-looking companions.

"Not talking, huh? Came the voice of the amazon woman. The bed shifted, indicating some her - or someone - taking a seat.

"Don't know why we're even taking care of this brat." muttered the other woman behind her, the low volume coming from the floor - the amazon then.

"Shut up, Apacci." The amazon snapped.

A little shuffling. "Put a sock in it, Mila-Rose!" was the outburst. "I just fucking wish Starrk would do his own damn business!"

To that statement, Apacci, it seems her name was, didn't get a reply. The girl's curiosity threatened to burst as to why, but instead kept her eyes on the olive headed woman. Her own magenta eyes were also trained on the action ensuing on the background, but they shifted back towards her, as if taking notice of her inspection. Something else drifted in them.

"How are you feeling at the moment, Inoue Orihime?" she probed.

The young woman blinked, waking in the simple question. "That's right… my name is Inoue Orihime." She found herself whispering. She shook her head, bothered by the disconcertion of her mind. "I'm not exactly sure," she replied, not wanting to keep her inquirer waiting long.

The jade maiden remained impassive, not even raising an eyebrow to the commentary , as if she expected her answer. Her eyes hid behind her pale lids before she returned her words. "Then please relax. Believe me when I say you are safe here."

"Suck-up." The venomous pledge from behind left Orihime senseless.

The magenta eyes emerged, burning irritably. "Undesirable cunt."

The bed shook violently, throwing Orihime off stance, the rough movements of the blue-headed woman arriving at her side overbearing the piece of furniture. "The hell was that, Sung-Sun!"

The woman named Sung-Sun turned her head to the side in a patronizing manner. "Apparently, your ears have been misplaced as well."

With each brutal quake, Orihime let her curiosity direct her head to the side, taking in the sight of the Amazon woman Mila-Rose holding the horned girl Apacci by the collar of her uniform. She blinked, plainly shocked at the crudeness of the scene before her.

Sung-Sun sighed from her side, approaching the bed despite the tremendous threat lingering nearby. "Quit being so easily riled-up. You're scaring our guest."

"Seriously, Apache," spoke up Mila-Rose, with a smug smirk, "This is the reason Ggio Vega is avoiding you. 'Cuz you're such an obnoxious bitch."

"Ganguro!" Apacci spat, whirling back to her primary offender.

"Flounder…!" Mila-Rose grunted.

"Would y'all quit it?" Sung-Sun inputted. "Follow your own advice for once, Mila-Rose." The Amazon huffed and looked away.

Silence followed. Sung-Sun sighed somewhat before she turned on the spot, green hair whipping behind her in a mystify8ing manner.

"Lady Halibel, how shall we proceed?"

Orihime stilled , wide grey eyes gawking over the jade maiden's shoulder. The gradual recovery of her senses threw her off and the idea of another person unnoticed in the room didn't even occur to her. Further down the room, the white of the walls blending her out of her sight, another dark-skinned woman leaned against the walls, arms crossed below her ample half-stark bosom. Only the top half of her face was visible, the bottom hidden by her uniforms extended collar.

The auburn, however, was intimated more on the woman's sharp green eyes screened by her odd yellow lashes. Both emerald orbs were distinctly like a pair of other, more reptlitian ones, but the ferocity behind them was not.

"Greetings, Inoue Orihime," came the deep, but feminine rumble, "I am Tia Halibel."

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**A/N:** You guys, I have not been on hiatus (For the ones who have mentioned it in the reviews^^;). I just felt completely out of place typing up my stuff on my sister's computer. Plus, yes I've been procrastinating. However, update lack in April was due to my sister not paying the Charter price that month, though it doesn't make up for May.^^; I will out rightly admit I have not been writing last month.:D However, I'd like to let everyone know that I've graduated from high school on May **27****th **and as a graduation present my sister(s) gave me the laptop I've told y'all I wanted to save up for, and yes, I am updating this on said laptop. I will hopefully be typing up my story in this now, and at the same be keeping an eye out, because this is the laptop I'll be using for school.:3

**King of Stories:** Seriously? Thank you.:D That's good to hear.^^

**Inochi N-f.O.G:** You're thoughts are highly appreciated!:D Cause it lets me know I made Luppi the character I wanted! Okay!

**ShelbyQueen25:** Haha! It's because of this chapter!:D And just to reassure, the answer… depends on you!;D (lol, kidding around! Just hold on!)

**BleachBarbie:** Wootwoot! I still need to go and read your story…T-T Forgive me!

**Sin Piedad:** Oh, yes! Such cries! Glad you like! Just hope this update and the next are satisfying!

**Vampire-Hime101:** All of your comments made my day.:D Really, I read every one of them. You can probably imagine my reaction when I snuck onto Yahoo on my school computer and saw all of your reviews.83 Thank you so much.

**StormGoddess101:** AAAAHHHHHH! I WILL! *Hides behind rock* XD

**Mama-Child09:** Glad to hear… I'll try, now that I got my new laptop.;D

Hey, y'all! Guess what? The fanfic was added to the Community **Interesting Reads**. I feel honored.:D

Thanks to **King of Stories**, **Vampire-Hime101**, **Smileyface-Kitsune**, **jogoku-kage**, and **Mama-child09** for adding the fanfic to their favs. Thanks also to **King of Stories** and **Vampire-Hime101**, again, along with **Sin Piedad**, for adding the fanfic to their alerts.

Thank you to the everyone who had taken some time out of their day to read this, especially during my inactive months. I appreciate it very much.:D


	13. Chapter 13

_**13. Glower**_

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_**BLEACH does not belong to me.**_

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_The intense stare of_

_Intense ridicule, intense_

_Anger, shame, and blame._

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Several servant _Arrancars_ turned their heads back, catching on to a commotion occurring onwards in the corridor. It grew louder, as two short figures approached, escaping the dim of the hall and entering the lighter portion.

One servant _Arrancar_ quickly noticed a familiar _Arrancar_, the one at front who was dragging another by the collar of their uniform. Though she knew better, she approached the figure, several gasps of horrors breathed in as she drew closer.

"Lilynette!" the blonde called. The lime-head turned towards the sound of her name, face brighten in recognition.

"Hey, Menoly!" She greeted back, stopping in her tracks. The servant _Arrancar_ stopped once close and both girls grasped one another's, shaking it in greeting.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Melon," said Lilynette, making conversations. "Kinda disappeared off the face of Hueco Mundo for a while, huh?"

"Lily, you just haven't noticed me because you're always cooped up with Starrk." Menoly retorted her voice playful. "Only reason why we saw each was because I happened to pass by the hall."

"Yeah, that's true." Lilynette held her gloved hand in front of her, studying her suddenly interesting nails. "'Cause your sis Loly was always seeing Aizen-sama, am I right?"

Menoly's face went red. "More or less, but she hasn't stopped at that part of the castle in a while."

Lilynette blinked at that. "You're pulling my leg? Whacha been up to?"

For a moment, Menoly gave Lilynette a reproachable look before turning slightly and wrapping her arms back and saying, "Why don't you ask your friend behind you?"

Though the last comment interested her, the lime-head grunted slightly before looking behind her, "Yeah, Pretty Boy, you've been quiet since I met up with Melon. Where's that loud mouth of yours?" Lilynette sneered.

From his position on the floor, Luppi looked like a sack, his uniform filled with creases from being dragged around for the last fifteen minutes. Arms crossed around his small chest, the brunette had kept his sight on the direction they came. Menoly's appearance perturb him none at all, but now he was the center of attention again, particular from the girl whose hold he was imprisoned in. He wanted to scream in frustration, but that crazy move would only make him question his sanity even more.

When a harsh tug brought back down, he scowled, though it quickly turned into his old coy smile a second later. He looked up at the fiery lime-head, a teasing glint in his eye. Just as easily as he shifted quirks, his rotten mood slid into the familiar devious one.

"Hmm, I wonder, Lilynette Gingerback," he drawled, the girl predictably flinching at his tone and full-use of her name, "Why would you be so curious about the personal life of others?"

Her upper cheek twitched noticeably, giving Luppi enough of a warning to brace the floor as Lilynette shook him roughly. "What's it to you, prick!"

The intense atmosphere did nothing to deter the slender male _Arrancar_. He chuckled, "Well, I don't know. I'd think you of all people would know how impossible it is to stand at the same level as Aizen." Just Aizen. Like hell he'd insert 'sama' after what he just went through. "No, one can't even dream of it!"

Slowly, permitting her to keep him in her grasp, he stood, her pink eye never leaving him, his violet ones on her.

He continued, feeling completely non-threaten. "When one can't reach their initial goal one always finds an alternative. I'm sure you of all people can understand.

Her patience reaching its limits, Lilynette clenched her unoccupied fist, thoughts of smashing it into Luppi's face filling her head up, she struggled to form her next words.

"Get to the point, Luppi."

"Silly, Lilynette. Do I have to spell it out for you? Really? Loly is in an affair."

In the span of an eye blink, the lime-head busted out laughing. Menoly watched the girl absorbed in hysterics, while Luppi only spared the scene with a blink.

"Oh, my God, good one!" She jabbed an elbow to Menoly's direction. "You almost got me on that one! Loly choosing another guy for Aizen-sama. Even she's not that delusional."

Menoly only gave the young girl a disheartened look.

With a snort, Luppi answered in turn, "She would, though if you ask me she could have made a better choice. Then again, finding a partner within this dump is hard enough-"

All too quickly, and maybe gratefully, Luppi grew silent. So silent, Lilynette grew suspicious of the sudden change in behavior, as she followed the dilated vision of his further down the hall.

"Come here!" Luppi hissed. Small hands with large reserves of strength vice-gripped the upper arms of the two female _Arrancars_. He pushed back off his foot, back meeting the wall. A yelp from his left, and Menoly's hand brushed over the invisible threshold of a door. The pitch black cleft of the room welcomed them within its expanse.

His fingers in between the slot of the door, Luppi peered through the crack, light irritating him as he awaited for the approaching figures. Their voices couldn't be heard (then again, he was muffling Lilynette's cry of rage so that might also be a reason), but he knew from the spikes in his _Pesquista_ of the two _Arrancars'_ identities.

The dread hanging over his head goaded time, and before long, in the mere second they emerged, he saw him.

He glowered to his right, eyes wandering around the door.

The feeling of animosity remained even as the pair of reiatsu flickered away.

Luppi would have breathed a sigh of relief if he hadn't been elbowed near the crotch by Lilynette. The blow still knocked the wind out of him, submitting him to his knees, as he watched Menoly attempt to reign the young girl in.

"That two-timing bastard!" Lilynette roared subsequently paling Menoly with its volume. "He's seeing Loly, too! Just wait until I tell Apache about this!"

"Um, what exactly is she going to do?" the other blonde wisely input.

"I honestly don't think she was paying attention to the previous conversation," Luppi sneered.

All of Lilynette's pent-up rage could be seen on the angry, red mark left on his face.

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**A/N:** Well, there's chapter 13. I seriously need to update faster. I don't have much to say. Summer's been uneventful so far. I guess the only thing I can spare for news is that I'm intending to update short stories this summer. I need to stop procrastinating…T-T

**ShelbyQueen25**: Thank you. I feel sort of bad for leaving you guys off, so you're review really hit the spot.:D Thanks again.

**StormGoddess101: ***comes out from behind rock* You're welcome. *phew* You really liked it? Thank you!:D I'll read your fanfic soon, then.:3

And, of course, I'm not forgetting those awesome people who are reading the fanfic.^^ Thank you so much! I appreciate you guys greatly!


	14. Chapter 14

_**14. Tune**_

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_**BLEACH does not belong to me.**_

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_Crackling The Air_

_Muting A World In A Cloak_

_Unseen, But Quite Felt_

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One thing Orihime concluded about Apacci and Mila-Rose in her observations; the two tend to argue - a lot.

"No, Mila-Rose! Alligators are cooler than crocodiles!"

"Idiot! Crocodiles are larger and more powerful than alligators, thereby cooler!"

From there, Orihime lost track of the argument in between the loud tones varying over verbal abuse and just plain noise. What confused her the most about the two women were their topics. This one had to be topic number twenty six so far in twenty minutes, but then again, with all the screaming taking place, she couldn't be sure.

She felt sort of rude for analyzing them the way she was, but lack of attention and entertainment left the girl's sluggish mind to wander. As much as it could in the environment she was in, of course.

Like the rest of _Las Noches _(that she's seen so far, anyway), the room was white. However, on closer inspection, Orihime felt a sort of warm impression to the space.

It was feminine, a lighting she hadn't noticed before glistening against the pale furniture in a soft glow. The room felt enriched, much more than her own room. Her head spun from constantly turning as she sought the origin of the translucent light.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Orihime blinked, trying to rid of the dizziness as she unsteadily looked at the _Arrancar_ Mila-Rose. Both she and Apacci were turned her way, their eyes slightly wide as they took in the mess of a girl before them.

"She looks like Mila-Rose when she had just woken up." Sun-Sung giggled behind her sleeve.

"The daze eyes, wrinkled clothes, and ruffled hair - it's all there." Apacci ended the comment with a smirk. Due in part to her dark skin, Mila-Rose's blush couldn't compare to Orihime's, fidgeting in embarrassment on the bed. Mila-Rose didn't fidget.

"How do you guys do that - switching targets so easily?" The brunette gritted out.

"I don't know; maybe it's because you're an amusement." Apacci offered, snickering, pinkie sticking into her ear in a offhanded manner. A moment late, she sprinted over to the bed, landing with a _plomp!_ by the human girl's side. A gloved finger twirled around a loose auburn strand laying on her shoulder. "You're an easier target girl, but it's like you're dead. We can't get a reaction out of ya."

Hands brushing down her hair, Orihime tiredly turned her paling face towards the blue-hair gal beside her. '_Why is every one of my movements draining me out?_' She thought, settling her hands. "I don't feel really well, actually." she answered, eyes glancing to the lower part of Apacci's uniform. "I feel so tired, even though I don't want to sleep or lie down. I-"

_GRROWLLLLLL_

All movement and activity halted. Three pairs of eyes locked on to the center of the bed, hazes of amusement clouding them.

"S-sorry," Orihime mumbled out, color returning to her face. "Seems like I'm pretty hungry, too."

"Damn right you are!" Apacci barked in laughter, her fellow _Fracciones_ joining in with her. Her arm was lifted in the air, suggestively posed to slap her back. Orihime winced, body tensed for the hit. When a few seconds went by, and no blow came along however, she turned and watched the limb lower back down. Her face dropped a little in confusion.

"Oi, Rose bud! Lets go get some grub!" she bellowed at the Amazon warrior, who scowled heavily at the nickname.

"Quit ordering me around, bitch!" With a turn of her head that sent her wavy locks flying, she stomp over to the door in a huff.

"Anything in particular you want, girl?" Apacci threw over her shoulder, as she followed the retreating _Arrancar_.

With everything moving along the way they were, Orihime could only blink in reaction at first, her face clearly showing her bewilderment. "Um, hold on~!" She jumped to her feet wobbling slightly at the sudden move, but she urged herself to take at least a step towards the blue-head. "Can I at least come with you?"

"No." Apacci answered automatically, her face turning serious. From behind, Mila-Rose approached them.

"Halibel-sama's orders were for you to stay in this room, girl. We're gonna make sure to carry them out." She lean forward in a threatening manner, her face overcome by a sudden shadow. "You have no problems with that, right?"

The sudden lethal aura the two _Fracciones_ gave off, left the atmosphere feeling tense. Orihime inched away from the doorway, turning around and plopping herself back onto the bed. With her silent surrender, she heard the shuffling of their retreat.

A coolness loosen out her tear ducts, and Orihime remained caught between feeling ashamed of breaking so easily or happy her tears had returned. She burrowed her head into the bed sheet, intend on keeping her dilemma to herself, even when her body protested and demanded movement.

How long she remained there, she didn't know, but considering the two sound-bringers were out and gone, the time grazer that was their conversations was absent with them. The silence stilled her awareness. Determined to break it, she began to hum a tuneless sound. It wasn't off-key or anything, but she just begun to hum what came out of her first. She picked up the lifeless sounds and nearly cringed, but it was so faint, she easily heard another tune playing along with her.

She didn't question its existence even for a moment; the sound was too harmonious to be fake. Turning her head to the side, she watched the slim _Arrancar_ Sun-Sung seated on the bed's edge, sleeve ridden arms before her face holding a purple rod with a fork end. The stump end was grasped between her lips, her cheeks puffed up slightly as she breathed into the staff, small fingers filling over camouflaged holes she had only just now seen.

The light melody rang smoothly. Orihime noticed, as it became more pronounced. Hisses singed along the chime, deepening it, clearing it and delivering it.

"His name is Theo," the olive-haired _Arrancar _answered, reading her thoughts. Orihime watched the snake appear from the front, resting its tiny white head on Sun-Sung's shoulder.

Sleepily, Orihme rose up a little, moving a bit to her left. Eyes falling on the shoulder, she reached a forward and stroked the white scales.

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**A/N:** Still got nothing to say except the usual; forgive me for the late chapter. I'm seriously trying to arrange a schedule for myself.:D I'm working on it. Oh, also, about the weirdness of this chapter...

...

...it will be explained in future chapters.:3 Just wanted to reassure you guys. Trust me; if I don't otherwisely say something along the lines of "This chapter is choppy.", you'll know it's screwed up.;3

Oh, yeah, now I remember what I wanted to say. Fun fact: Theo the Snake was a last edition added to the chapter.:3 If I hadn't done so, the last part of the chapter would've been... choppy.X3

**StormGoddess101:** Thank you for both compliments. I'm trying.:D

**ShelbyQueen25:** :D That's really wonderful to here. *bows* Lilynette is like the Rukia of Hueco Mundo in my eyes. Stupidty will not be tolerated in her presence..XD

Thank you all for taking the time to read the fanfic!


	15. Chapter 15

_**Meal**_

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_Giving nourishment_

_In such a majestic form_

_Unique to our cause_

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For the _Arrancar _females who had just met the human girl, it felt utterly bizarre to see her tackling her plate the way she was. Orihime, for her part could care less of the looks she was getting. She had her food, so she was as happy as she could be.

"_Thank you so much for the food_!" Orihime cried out, managing to say it when her mouth wasn't full. Apache scratched the back of her head, feeling awkward.

"Uh, your welcome?"

"God forbid… she went through the extra plates we brought, too…" moaned Mila-Rose.

"Why did you even bring extra plates…?" muttered Sun-Sung, looking at the opposite direction, though she spoke loud enough for the Amazon _Arrancar_ to hear, hence the death glare she was now sending to the olive girl's direction.

"Mmm, I'm so sorry!" Orihime wailed slightly, mouth now with food. "I guess I really needed the energy!" She patted herself on the belly in an unconscious move, her other hand moving to scratch the head of a white snake resting around her neck like a scarf. She picked out a tiny patch of rice and feed it to the thin animal.

"Theo seems to really like you, girl," Sun-Sung commented.

Orihime didn't know how to react to her words, instead choosing to remove the reptile from her neck and placing it on the floor next to its owner on her right. It slithered away, creeping upward Sun-Sung's lap. "I didn't know you had pets."

Apacci snorted. "We all have pets, not like they listen to us in the frickin' first place."

"Yeah, for you, I can't even imagine how hard it is to train a _bug_." The Amazon sneered. A gurgle of a scream erupted from Apacci's throat from her anger. Confusion and curiosity mixed into Orihime, uncertainty caught in her throat as she stuttered, "You all have pets?"

With a frustrated groaned, the odd-eyed girl answered. "Yeah, but they don't ever listen to what we tell them to do!"

Mila-Rose snorted, pointedly looking at Orihime as she spoke. "She's mostly speaking for herself."

"Theo listens to me just fine." Inserted Sun-Sung, petting the docile snake wrapped around her left arm.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"I think it's nice you have pets," Orihime complimented, not just to ease the tension, but because she was interested in this new set of information. '_Who knew _Arrancar _had pets?_'

"Trust me; it sucks!"

A pout appeared on her lips, a sub-conscious move on her part. "Please?"

Apacci nearly pulled her hair off in aggravation as she erratically scratched her head. "Why the hell are you even bothering us on this?"

Opening her mouth to answer, Orihime stopped prematurely when a loud _THUD_ resonated in the room. Mila-Rose gone from the table, all other eyes were directed to the south of the room, watching the Amazon scuffle around the corner. One moment, the dark-skinned _Arrancar _was balanced on her toes, kneeling in front of her before she was toppling over, falling back with a shriek

"Mally, get the hell off me!" On top of the dark-skinned woman was a tabby-looking cat. Appearance it did, as Orihime immediately noticed the white mask clashing against the orange fur. The feline-Hollow pawed Mila-Rose's ample chest roughly before jumping off and treading over the center of the room. "Mally!"

The cat approached the table purposefully, ignoring Orihime's curious hand hovering over him, jumping elegantly on the furniture. The scraps left on the plate were quickly devoured by the feline-Hollow. "Oh, God, Mally! Yuck!" came the wail from the blue-haired woman. Even Sun-Sung pulled a face at the small Hollow's behavior. It, of course, could cared less, its face - well, mask - readily content.

Orihime jumped at Mila-Rose's raucous laughter, the wavy-hair beauty having approached them during the adorable episode. "This is the only reason I haven't bumped it off yet; he can easily piss these bitchy brats."

"Damn it, Mila-Rose! Get Mally off! He's going to go for the other plates!" roared Apacci, who was banging the table in an attempt to hitting the creature. It dodged smoothly and landed besides Sun-Sung. The green-haired nymph immediately flinched away, nevertheless the movement happen to still be a bit too late. Mally scraped her shoulder, reaching not for her but rather Theo, the white snake hissing edgily as it fell towards the floor.

At this point, Orihime couldn't keep herself from laughing out loud from the sight. It was just so cute, watching the two Hollows play around - okay, Mally play around. Poor Theo was being hurled around in the air like a toy, continuing to hiss harmlessly as it twirled and twirled. From the corner of her eyes she saw Apacci struggling to keep a straight face as she more or less giggled audibly. Distress was obvious in Sun-Sung's face and the girl actually squeaked each time Theo hung in the air. Multiple times she reached out to grab her pet, but it eluded her with each grab, every other try she parted with a scratch. Other than the slight smell of blood, the scene was utterly hilarious, and it wouldn't end there if what little Orihime knew of the _Arrancar_ wouldn't fail her now.

Snickering all the way through her approach to the center of the chaos, Mila-Rose took a seat next to Apacci, the respectable distance to watch the entertainment that was Sun-Sung. For a moment, things were far too peaceful. Then Mila-Rose shrieked.

"Oh my God, get those slimy pieces of shit off of mmeeeeee!" Her dark arms flailed around her, slapping herself several times in loud smacks. Besides her, Apacci's laugh doubled in volume. A baffled look emerged on Orihime's face before she felt something land on her lap.

A part of her told her she should be grossed out, but the appearance of the large beetle on her lap sent out a cute signal. The red streaks on it, which vaguely reminding her of Lilynette, gave it the sense of it being on fire, just like Lilynette. Overall, it's hand-size body nearly blended into her dress with the rest of its body covered in the traditional white scales. A small patch of blue hair stuck out from behind its antennae and eyes, in the look of a Mohawk. Six tiny legs begun to move in unison, motoring the insect up her dress. Orihime giggled as it pasted over her belly, reflexes influencing her hands to move and catch it.

"Guess you finally met mine." Apacci giggled, hands over her mouth as she slipped away from Mila-Rose's angry hands. "There's five of 'em. That one's always had an eye out for fresh meat." Drool had dripped from her mouth in the excitement, and she was in the middle of whipping it off when Mally, in a moment's notice, heaved Theo in her direction. In a shriek mirroring her fellow Amazon _Arrancar_, Apacci fell back.

Amidst the spiteful laughter of the miffed_ Arrancar_, Orihime caught herself laughing at females antics. There was never a dull moment, and despite the unpleasantness the blue-haired_ Arrancar_ was currently in, she was enjoying herself. In fact, she felt much better than she had before. Her most bothersome needs taken care, she was on cloud nine.

She was in the middle of scratching the little beetle's belly - it was surprisingly enjoying it - when the door opened. She turned, naming herself as the host considering the condition of the other three woman, to see none other than Tia Halibel enter the quarters. The blonde beauty slowly strolled into the room, in a fashion that told Orihime she didn't come back her or her actions at least were coming off as reluctant.

"Apacci, Sun-Sung, Mila-Rose." Halibel said in a curt voice.

The three young women, atop on the table as they tried to subdue one another's pets, immediately got to their feet, organizing themselves as much as they could appearance-wise. Halibel only spared their effort with a nod.

"Give your farewells to our guest. She's leaving."

With wide eyes, they turned to Orihime, her own eyes mirroring theirs. Attempting to return control to her gaping mouth, she turned to speak with the_ Tercera_. "Halibel-san, is Starrk-san back?"

She was ignored; the _Tercera _moved out of the doorway, turning back for a moment before moving towards the auburn girl, arms crossing in the respective places below her breasts. Though her movements were slow, it felt like it only took seconds for her to approach the human, her dark face suddenly only a few centimeters apart. Orihime squeaked a little, inching away from Halibel, but otherwise unable to move further. Halibel lowered her head to make up the lost distance, giving Orihime a shadowed view of the Hollow jaw bones on her face. From there, her baritone voice rumbled.

"Take care of yourself human girl, for if I see you take even one misstep, you'll be at the receiving end of my blade." She growled.

All Orihime could do for a response was gape at the blonde _Arrancar_. What did she just say? How was she suppose to take in such threatening words? Instinctively, Orihime raised her hands up, placing a feeble shield between herself and the suddenly dangerous female Hollow. Halibel's own hands were removed from around her chest, reaching forward towards her hands, and -

"Orihime, are you here?"

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**A/N:** Lateness of chapter = distractions from MMORPG (visit my profile for more details).:D

Seriously, though, it's not funny how long I kept y'all waiting for this chapter, but I was not in the mood to write, especially since I started drawing using my mouse on the laptop for dA. Still, I sincerely hope I do not keep you guys waiting as long as this one for the next chapter; you'll be happy to know that the next chapter will be the start of Starrk-and-Orihime bonding.:3

Also, guys, other fanfics that I've been reading got me to thinking of choosing a theme song for the fanfic. I already have a suggestion in mind - "Suteki da Ne" from Final Fantasy X. I downloaded the song a while back since it's my favorite song from the original FFX, and I kept listening to it while I was trying desperately to have this chapter finished for today, and well, I thought it went well with the fanfic. Mostly because Tidus and Yuna's relationship was tragic in the original, and because of both of Starrk and Orihime's positions, their own relationship has a hint of never being (Just like the ever popular UlquiHime U_U). Of course, that could also be because Orihime was with Starrk for only ten seconds in the original storyline, but I prefer StarrHime over UlquiHime (yeah, I'm being bitter). To the point, I was wondering if any of y'all had any suggestions for a theme song, because this is a fun little thing I want to do in the sidelines.:D

I really like how this chapter came out, even though it's slightly choppy due to me wanting to update it today. But it's still one of my most amusing chapters in my book.:D

-X-

**King of Stories** - Thank you. I'll do my best.:D

**StormGoddess101** - Seriously?:D I hope you like this chapter, then. P.S., I need to go and read _'The Witchy Peach_'.^^;

**ShelbyQueen25** - Yeah, I suck at writing long chapters since my excitement in uploading them gets the best of me. It's something I'm trying to work on; or at the very least hurrying in updates.^^; Sorry to keep you waiting.

I'd like to send my gratitude to **sentimental sweet nothings,** for adding the fanfic to their favorite list, **Fabled Phoenix** and **The Kataklyst,** for alerting it.:3

My gratitude also goes to those who take out time in their day to read the fanfic. You're always appreciated.:D Ja mata ne and 'till next time (hopefully soon).


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16 - Junction**_

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_Yes, we met before,_

_Again, after a voyage_

_We can't recall, though_

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Starrk's brow arched slightly when he saw Halibel escort Inoue Orihime out of hers and her _Fracciones' _connected quarters. The slightly off look on the human girl's face raised his suspicions slightly, but he said nothing, knowing full well, and trusting , that Halibel wouldn't hurt her. He nevertheless approached his ward quickly, his gloved right hand completely covering her small one.

"I'll repay you for this one, Halibel." He told her over his shoulder as he guided Orihime down the hall. Halibel simply turned around and returned to her room. He chuckled slightly at her quiet retreat, experience preparing him for his fellow _Espada's _lack of response. The smile still on his face, he turned to the human captive. "Are you all right?"

The girl jumped up slightly at being called to attention. For a moment, her eyes blanked out before the shine he recalled from before returned. "Yes, of course!" A definitely fake smile appeared on her face. Starrk frowned at this, as did the girl when he stopped walking.

His other hand, the one not holding the suddenly trembling hand, lifted on level with his face, pointing at it with his index finger. "You know you can tell me anything, right, Inoue?" He gripped her hand tightly in his, enough that he wouldn't crush it, enough so she couldn't take it away. She knew this, her eyes giving away the realization, and she also knew that, so she turned her head away. He followed her, his head dipping low enough to see her. He started.

She was crying. He back off as if he's been hit, wondering if he had done or said something wrong.

"Inoue…" His unoccupied hand reached up to her face and wiped away the furthest trail of tears. Even with his glove on, the dripping liquid was sheer cold, sweeping through the clothe material and touching his human skin. He shivered, despite himself, suddenly feeling like he empathize with the human girl.

"Inoue." He found himself saying again, this time more firmly. Realizing he was still holding her hand, he passed his thumb over the knuckles, doing what he was hoping was soothing.

At last she reacted, her head shaking fiercely shortly before slowing, a look of pain scrunching up her face from the sudden action, no doubt. "Oh, I'm fine." It was an obvious lie, but she nevertheless smiled as she spoke, looking up to him with the shine back in her eyes. She wiped away the remaining fluids staining her face. A movement around his hand attracted his eyes away from her face, watching her hand twist within his grasp, her fingers, smaller than his, curling around whatever part of his hand they could reach.

"I… Coyote-san… Thank you so much." She looked up at him directly, the strength behind her eyes gathering around. Her smile returned. "I'm just touched, is all." She sniffled a little, lowering her gaze for a moment as she collected her next words. "I appreciate this.

Starrk let her word choices fall on for a few seconds, thinking over them. When he made no movement, he noticed Orihime's face turn an interesting shade of red. He glanced at her skeptically. "Is something wrong?"

The blush increased in volume, causing Starrk to worry if the girl had caught that human cold Szayel Apporo Granz spoke about. She fidgeted around, her head still lowered even as she answered. "Um, you're… ah… still holding my hand…"

Indeed, he was still holding her hand, he noticed as he took in their entwined hands. Apparently, without him taking noticed, his thumb continued rubbing the back of her hand as he had been lost in thought. He looked at her in confusion of his actions. "Is there something wrong?"

The reaction was immediate; the girl squeaked, her head snapping back up. "Oh, no! It's just…! Oh… I didn't know if you were aware of it…" Just as it immediately came up, she quieted down, finding everything surrounding them much more interesting than him.

'_Hmm… Have to keep these reactions in mind…'_

"Does it bother you?"

At least the color on her face was decreasing, though her fidgeting hadn't stopped, and she finally quit looking away from him. "No, it doesn't. It's okay." Her little fingers grasped around him more tightly for more assurance.

He nodded, leading her away from the spot.

A comfortable silence befell them for a while as they twisted and turned their way around _Las Noches_, though it came to Orihime's attention that she had no idea where Starrk was taking her. It's not that she didn't trust him; if he meant to harm her, he would've done so before; he was her caretaker after all and she was under his jurisdiction now. Nevertheless, she felt awful just remaining by his side like this. Starrk didn't seem like one easy to entertain, unlike his younger-looking ward. But, shouldn't she do something? After all, Lilynette was a good girl, and Starrk took care of her. Maybe the same could be said of him…?

"Coyote-san…" She began. She noticed how just mentioning his name the way she did immediately had his attention on her; she smile. "Where are we going?"

"To find Lilynette." With this, she finally realized the lively female _Arrancar_ was nowhere to be seen.

"You didn't bring her with you?"

He shook his head in a sad gesture. "I know where she is, but considering she was the one who kept insisting for me to take my job seriously, she knows I'll be putting my job first before tending to finding her."

A few minutes of walking in silence, and Starrk turned to look at her again. Her face was downcast, the light in her eyes gone. "Inoue?"

Her head shot up, and her eyes flickered once more. "Hmm?"

His mouth grew into a smile, recognizing the emotion she was trying to hide. "Inoue, I know loneliness." The confusion in her eyes amused him. He pulled her up towards him, urging her to walk beside him. His hand lifted up to her upper arm, grasping the limb.

"I didn't accept this job because I felt the need to prove myself or anything." Gently massaging it, his eyes never leaving in front of him, Starrk welcomed the soothing wave of Orihime's reiastu as she gave off her tranquility. "I heard about you; the walls have ears, you know." He hummed pleasantly when a particular stroke of the particles curved around his neck. "When the news of your comrades departing went around, it depressed me. For centuries -" because he _was _old "- I've looked high and low for friends to accompany me."

All along, he reached out with his own spiritual strands, silently musing to himself in amazement how she easily controlled it, like a second body. The stripes danced, tangling amongst the dozens upon dozens of the lot. If Starrk concentrated enough, he could see the colors of their spiritual pressure - blue, light blue ,and orange - mingle visibly, the orange and azure reaching into the blue mass.

"Through a source that shall remain unnamed," Starrk chuckled when Orihime's face - and the strands - grimaced, as she easily understood, "I've found my comrades." His hand slid away the white expanse, swinging at the space before him through his words.

"Coyote-san," she stuttered, "how painful was it?" The spiritual ribbons tied around.

"Very much." Curling over once.

"How did you survive?" They descended.

"First came Lilynette, then all this." It stopped, in front, before twisting back to them, swirling around the pair and brightening the otherwise bland surrounding.

It was harmonized. It was varied. It was blending.

It was mesmerizing.

"Would you like to be a comrade of mine, Inoue Orihime?"

Only now did Starrk realize that the auburn girl had manage to drag behind him, her tiny hand grasping as much of his uniform as it could, the other one still placed firmly in his own, squeezing his hand in equal strength.

"Orihime?" He used her given name this time.

The hand on his back squeezed around the fabric tighter.

"Coyote-san…" He didn't miss the hesitation in her voice. Despite that fact, he found himself smiling.

"It's okay, Orihime. May I call you Orihime?" He felt her nodded against his back. "You don't have to answer me right away. What you are going through right now has you on a turmoil. Think it through first."

With that, their walk, which he hadn't realized had stopped in the midst of their talk, resumed. It was difficult walking with the girl trailing behind him, but at least she wasn't stuck on him completely. As they came closer to Lilynette's reiastsu - which was lit as if a beacon - another thought occurred to him.

"Orihime," he suddenly spoke, "becoming my comrade doesn't mean you'll become the enemy of your friends. I don't want you to feel obligated. Choose of your own violation."

Just moments after he finished speaking, he felt a tug come the back of his tunic. He let a small sound of surprise as Orihime used the article of clothing as leverage, hoping onto his back, legs and arms securing themselves soundly around his waist and neck, respectively. He turned his head slightly in mild shock, watching her gleeful face come into the line of his view. Her grin illuminated both her face and his.

"I know."

_Thank you. _

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**A/N**: Very late. Very, very late update. I'd apologize, but I'm trying to stop myself from doing that all the time. It sounds like an excuse but the last three months I had no internet. I couldn't get on my sister's computer because I'd infected her computer with a virus for the fourth time. I didn't want to upload in the library because my time there was limited and I spent it mostly on checking things and lounging on my guilty pleasure of reading fanfics. Also, this chapter is the only chapter I got done in these three months; I've been procrastinating. Still, these last months did me some good; I've been soul searching for ideas for the fanfic. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I was _this _close to heading into hiatus. After Chapter 16, I kind of got lost and had a hard time deciding what to do for the Starrk-Orihime bonding, because like I told you in the last chapter (months ago! *bangs head*), the bonding begins _now_. There's still some holes in the plot, but once I get into the speed of things I'll take a purposeful break to think of more ideas. Now that that rant's out of the way, I'll tell you right now the bonding will be a little slow in getting there since the next chapter (and probably a few more after) will be dedicated to Starrk retrieving Lilynette, and a little more things.:3 After that, though, yosh!XD

**SuNrIsEmAsSacRe**: That's great to hear!:D

**ShelbyQueen25**: :D Yeah, it feels like suddenly everyone's after her. But considering her powers, that's to be expected, I would think. Hollows were, and to me are, humans, so their behaviours aren't that different from ours, you think?

**Emma**: You've made my day saying that.:D Starrk-Orihime lovers unite!XD I know what you mean. Ulquiorra was my favorite Espada when I got back to BLEACH (though I cringed at the UlquiHime quantity) but when I discovered Starrk's existence... mmhmmhmmmm.:P Delicious. There's not enough things about Starrk, period. There must be more!X3

Many thanks to **DarkAngel2098**, **DAWN94**, **Draka Dark**, **kurokitsune17**, **reality deviant**, **shoefairy101**, **SuNrIsEmAsSacRe**, **Unseen MysticRain** (for favoriting the fanfic), **Lets spoon**, **Lover of all that is Animated**, and **SuNrIsEmAsSacRe **again (for alerting the fanfic). Very much appreciated, y'all. It makes me really happy seeing people really enjoying the fanfic. I let myself feel proud, and it makes me strive to make sure the fanfic is the best I can possibly make it.

Of course, I also like to thank those who take the time out of your days to read. That effort in itself makes me really happy. Thank you, and until next time (once again, I hope it'll be soon). Ja mata ne.


	17. Chapter 17

_**17 - Gloom**_

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_**BLEACH does not belong to me.**_

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_Unsettling, really?_

_Maybe just a bit too dark_

_But seriously?_

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"I can feel Lilynette's presence beyond this wall." Orihime announced as she and Starrk approached one of the Espada's chambers. Starrk resisted raising a brow, instead nodding his head in agreement. Lilynette was truly behind the wall.

"Szayel Aporro is playing with her again." He commented. Orihime looked at him, eyes filled with question. Starrk chuckled, unable to hold it in terms of her expression along with Lilynette's current predicament. "These corridors are infamous for trapping Arrancar here, leaving them to run around in a panic of hunger and exhaustion. It's one of Szayel's grotesque methods of entertaining himself, as if he didn't need to give himself another reason for others to stir clear from here. Problem is, and no one knows how he does it, his control of those corridors are ever shifting and expanding. It's hard to remember what part exactly you have to avoid."

"How come we haven't lost our way?" his avid listener asked, catching on to him.

"Because we're not in range; I have an idea of his quarter's size. That and Szayel probably doesn't want to get more than he can chew by messing with the higher-ups. Doesn't stop him from messing around with Grimmjow and Nnoitra, though… Crud."

"Grimmjow-san's here, too!" Orihime exclaimed just as Starrk felt his fellow Espada's presence.

"What's he doing here?" Starrk muttered under his breathe. He wasn't in a hurry; Szayel wouldn't hurt Lilynette. It was Grimmjow that was the problem, though not directly. Considering Lilynette's reputation in Las Noches, he knew her being here wasn't a coincident; she had obviously been tailing the Sexta Espada, and he had his suspicions of her reasons. "Lets go, Orihime."

The girl nodded quickly, and rushed to fall into step behind Starrk.

'_Such long legs! I'll have to work to catch up with Coyote-san._' Orihime smiled to herself as she admired Starrk's long, slow strides. '_He must be able to catch little critters so easily with those steps._' She hummed happily, imagining the mellow Espada catching little frogs and dragonflies in a meadow. She giggled slightly, catching his attention for a second. To tell him what she thought of, Orihime gleefully opened her mouth again, looking up at his stature.

"Oh," Orihime mewled, but just one word slipped through. Starrk stared at her questioningly, taking in her wide eyes and opened mouth, formed into a look of surprise.

"What's wrong, Orihime?"

"Oh, well, I, I see… something," she explained, her eyes studying the motif of a barrier in front of Starrk. Having been daydreaming, as usual, she had not noticed the looming wall until she glanced up. Its green lines crisscrossed into an elaborate glowing fence. Rather than coming from the floor, the barrier stretched from the ceiling, about a foot away from the floor. Orihime looked at that space intently. "There seems to be a barrier in front of you."

"A barrier?"

"Yes. It feels weird." She said before she caught herself. She wasn't even touching the barrier, and yet just looking at it, and possibly feeling from all the way here, it felt prickly. Her arms unconsciously circled around her torso. "Can't you see? _Feel_ it?"

"Hmm, no, I can't see anything," While not voicing it aloud, Starrk wondered if Orihime could see the boundary of Szayel Aporro's reach. He silently thanked the girl as he headed back towards her, looping his arm through one of hers. The boundary of his maze had been greater than the last time he'd been here, and he was glad for the unexpected warning. He didn't know how it felt for anyone else, but each and every time he entered the Octava's domain it felt like he was passing through a wall of thorns. It didn't exactly hurt him; the sensation was akin to chalk on a chalkboard. It was awful, though Starrk never complained, even now as he walked through with his companion. "That's really interesting how you can see Szayel's _Esfera_."

"_Esfe…ra_?" Orihime repeated the word, testing it.

"An Espada's sphere of influence," he explained as they walked. "Hold on." Staring ahead of him, Starrk imagined his reiastsu take the shape of a arrow, piercing through the mass of the _Esfera_. '_I send a message to you, Octava._' was the silent words passing through both him and his mettle, his greeting that would no doubt be reached.

"Now, for him to grant us safe passage," Starrk whispered, a second later. He sighed silently, his need for sleep coming out more than ever.

"How did you do that?" When he looked down at the girl, he saw her astounding eyes wide with excitement. Despite himself, Starrk felt a little uncomfortable from being looked at so intensely. "I felt it all the way from here! It was like a sharp spark of energy! I saw it!"

Resuming their walk, Starrk scratched at his goatee awkwardly. "I was just sending my reiastsu signature to Szayel Aporro."

"How did you do it?"

To this, Starrk did not have an immediate answer. "It's a little complicated." No, it wasn't, but Starrk did not know how to put it in words. "I just think about how I'm feeling, and my reiastsu takes the shape of my emotion."

Orihime's face took the mode of thinking. "So were you angry?"

His brows flew up, and it was all that it took to make her flinch. "Why would you think that?"

"W-well… it felt sharp."

"Sharp?" Her description made him wonder. "Did it feel sharp?" He wasn't surprised that she felt it, of course, but to describe it as sharp? "I wasn't angry, more like upset."

"Because of Lilynette?"

She caught on quickly. He nodded.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Depends on your definition of okay. Szayel himself won't harm her." He began to scratch his tiny beard again, deciding to leave it at that. "It's basically my way of saying, 'I'm coming to get her. Don't do anything to her.'"

"That's really handy. I wish I could do that!" She took a pose, where she placed the finger of one hand against her cheek, and tilted her body to the side, studying him with her amused eyes. Starrk couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"The thing is, I don't know how to do it." He responded, looking ahead as he said this with a pensive look. "I've been doing that for as long as I could remember. I-"

Suddenly the sound of shoes stomping on the floor stopped both of them in their tracks. Reflexively, Starrk stepped in front of Orihime, faintly shielding her from whomever who want to lay eyes on her. As if reading his movements, the human girl nudged closer to him.

Seconds after positioning themselves, shadows emerged from the other end of the hall.

"Melon, I'm serious. I can smell something like tonic plus rotten eggs. I think I'm gonna barf…"

"Hold on, Lily… Hold on to me."

"Damn that, Scrounger…! Playing around with us like that…"

"Look on the bright side, Lily; Grimmjow's no better off than us."

"What's so bright about me barfing all over you, Melon…?"

"Uh… um…"

"Oh… that's it… it's coming…"

"W-wait…! Lilynette…!"

Both captive and captor stared at each other before reacting, sharply turning the corner to meet their long sought ward.

Not far from, on her knees on the floor was Lilynette. She remained hunched over and seemingly unaware of their presence. The _Arrancar_ rubbing her back looked up at hearing their footsteps and her eyes went wide when they landed on Orihime. The human girl nearly faltered, but continued to run by the _Primera_'s side.

Starrk opened his mouth to yell out his _Fraccion_'s name, but wound up shutting it almost immediately afterwards when his nose took in… the most revolting smell.

"Ugh!" He skid to a stop, one hand flying to his face to cover his nose from that awful stench. He lurched over, coughing fiercely into his hand in disgust. "Fuck!"

Orihime could only stare as Starrk inclined towards the wall, arm supporting him as he continued to rasp of a 'stench'. "C-Coyote-san…" She twitched, biting her lower lip in worry. '_What could be wrong?_' She bended down next to him, draping in arm over his neck, the other gingerly placing its hand on his chest. "Coyote-san, what is it?"

Starrk took his time answering, though not by his choice. He could barely breathe what with the smell making the action near impossible for him. If he didn't get to breathe fresh air soon, he _knew_ his nose would just fall off. "It's really disgusting. Lilynette is right. It _does_ smell like rotten eggs with tonic.

In place of an answer, Orihime merely nodded at his words, while her mind tried to wrap around them. '_Lilynette-chan _had _said something about a smell…_'

Suddenly, from over the top of her head, a voice surfaced.

"Well, now, that was certainly interesting to watch," it said, sounding as if it was going through a mesh, "but I'm sure our guest would be interested to get to the bottom of this, no?"

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**A/N:** After several months of absence I return with this lame short chapter. D:

I feel awful because one of the reasons for the lateness of this chapter is procrastination. I'm going to have to seriously consider a schedule because my laziness isn't fair to you guys. Plus, this chapter is halfway towards crapiness it's not even funny. But I'm going to do my research and I'm going to make sure I lead this story towards a nice finish (though I don't want to think about that right now). :D

Now for… ACTUAL, RELEVANT NOTES!

_-Esfera _= sphere.

I was hesitate in adding my own Spanish-titled abilities into the story, but alas it could not be avoided, especially considering the direction I'm leading this to. :D

Seriously when I started this fanfic, the plan was to finish it within the year, and look at it! It's not done yet; its far from done, in fact (and the chapters are short; yes, I do hear y'all's complaints. I'm sorry!) *cries*

**Jigoku-kage**: I feel awful you had to wait several months for it, but behold! Here she is (there's more to come, too).

**Greayearth01**: Glad you saw it so. I only wish I could have upload it sooner.^^;

**JazkaStar**: Whoa, seriously? Dang, I feel self-conscious now, especially since it took forever for me to update again. All the same, thank you. That was a very well-written sentence fic, and it really left me inspired. The fic was what fully pushed me into being a StarrHime fan (my initial push into the pairing was a comic on dA for me). Haha, someone who reads my responses (I do the same for other people's fics). Yeah, there isn't enough of Starrk at all, or StarrHime period. The screen time left me begging for more of him so I actually cried when it came to an end. I will. :D

**ShelbyQueen25**: Glad to get that reaction. I wish for more update time. ):D

**KaSchnapples**: There is not. Thank you. I'm cooking up several ideas on my end.

**Taz**: Thank you. Although my update times must improve. XD

**Marshmellowtime**: Thank you! (Love your Penname!)

I would like to say thank you to the following people (because despite my absence they continue to be wonderful to me T-T ):

**Ally123456**,** ARandomWeirdo, Denise5150, greyearth01, greyearth07, KaSchnapples, The-Konoha-Shadow, WeAreMadland, Wishyuki, **and **Zsasz41,** for faving the fic; **Angel Peace, Grimlock the King of Stories, **and **thegoodfolk** for alerting it.

Thank you for reading (and being patient). _Ja mata ne! :D_


	18. Chapter 18

**_18 - Intelligent_**

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**_BLEACH does not belong to me._**

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_A fact is a truth._

_Whether it be good or bad_

_Truth is rarely known._

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"Welcome to my humble abode, Inoue-chan!"

The far too cheerful voice made Lilynette cringe, but Orihime looked at Szayel unfazed, returning his obviously fake smile with a real one of her own. The lime head sighed slightly before taking a step back to lay against the wall. The stool that substituted as her seat lean back a bit before she settled her feet on the floor.

Minutes before when she had heard Starrk's voice calling out to her in the hallway, she had nearly jumped for joy, too jovial to feel pissed at his late arrival. That is, she would have jumped for joy if she hadn't been reeling over from that God-awful stench she had smelt.

Then there was poor Starrk who had seemed all heroic-looking running towards her, the outward show quickly going into shambles when he too stumbled forward from the smell. She couldn't blame him, and ungraceful or not, he at least managed to stay on his feet. She crumbled into a pathetic pile of limbs not even a minute after smelling it, only managing to appear partially upright thanks to Menoly.

Menoly, fortunately didn't have as strong of a sense of smell as she and Starrk did, so aside from a wrinkled nose she had been fine. From what she saw at the distance between them, Orihime wasn't aware of the scent at all, and Lilynette remembered feeling ridiculously jealous at the fact. At least she wasn't suffering like they were, she had refuted to herself.

When Szayel's voice came over the loudspeaker, Lilynette had, without restraint, groaned out loud, feeling a tiny urge to vomit after the effort. It was bad enough he was torturing them with his damn experiments, now he wished to torture them with that stupid voice of his. His cheerful voice had been heard then, and it was still being heard now, in his lab, where they now were gathered in.

With them decapitated, Orihime had been the one to hesitantly lead the way to their (Szayel's) destination. He had, as he put it, graciously provided them a shortcut to his layer.

Now Lilynette sat fuming, wondering why the hell they had come to his palace in the freaking first place.

On her side, Starrk moaned a bit. Lilynette glanced at her comrade, sympathetically watching him hold his nose in agony. "It still stinks," she puts in. He nodded in response. She stared back in front of her, not bothering looking for Menoly since the girl had excused herself before they had entered the mystery tunnel.

_'Probably to look for Loly and that stupid Grimmjow. I wonder where they went...'_

"Make yourself at home, Inoue-chan. Starrk-boy and Lilycast over there already have."

"That's 'Lilynette'!" She ripped her attention away from Starrk to yell at the pink-haired menace. "Quit making up nicknames over there! We are NOT on nicknaming terms!"

"What nicknames, Lilyweb? I'm just referring to how I see the two of you, is all."

Starrk grunted. Lilynette practically felt her insides boil.

"Shut the hell up! Why the hell are we down here to begin with, Szayel? We don't even want to be here!"

"Speak for yourself. If you hadn't wanted to be here, you wouldn't have been walking in my hallways, disturbing the peace. I might need to remind you of the unique smell you all most likely smelt before."

The two _Arrancars_ paled. Orihime stared at the _Octava_ questionably. "What unique smell?" Szayel looked up at her in surprise.

"You didn't catch a whiff of it?" Orihime shook her head no. Taking in her gesture, _Espada_ placed a hand under his chin thoughtfully. "Huh, so the scent is undetectable by humans…"

"Does this have something to do with what happened at the hallway, Coyote-san?" The human turned to the dazed _Primera_. Starrk could still not bring himself to speak, and only nodded in response. Orihime's smile fell to a concern frown.

"It's an experimentally balm I'm working on," Szayel explained. "Aizen-sama is attempting to work on an alternate method on controlling the Menos Grande." His voice slid out in a burr, as if he was speaking to himself rather than them.

"Menos are not really the most intellectual creatures out there, so Aizen-sama wishes to develop a different method of attracting their attention. The scent was the result of all that. Obviously, it didn't go very well."

"Obviously."

"Watch it, Lilymesh. I do have the balm in hand."

Lilynette growled loudly.

"I find it astounding how much of an effect it has on you. I probably should keep this experimental kind for future use."

"Watch your mouth, Szayel Aporro." croaked Starrk, his response half-covered by his hand.

"Of course, _Primera_. I wouldn't want to impose on you anymore than I would want to." Szayel drawled. "Speaking of which, where _are_ my manners? Would you like anything to drink or eat?"

"No." Lilynette bit out, before Orihime made a move to answer. She shuffled back awkwardly.

"Don't be answering for everyone else. Orihime-chan, would you like something?"

Starrk began to lift himself into a sitting position.

"Um, I am a little bit thirsty." she answered shyly, not to be rude.

"Then come around back. I'll have something ready for you."

"Orihime…" Starrk called out in warning. The auburn turned back and smiled again.

"It's all right, Coyote-san. I'll, I'll be careful." she reassured him as she followed Szayel towards a different section of his lab. Starrk reached out a hand, sluggishly realizing his action after he lost sight of the girl. He lowered it down with a sigh. Lilynette watched him with slit eyes.

"You're just going to let her go with him." She spoke the words as a statement, not a question. He could tell.

He chuckled dryly. "Are you worried?" That _was_ a question, one he knew the answer to. But he knew she would answer. It was in her nature. Because she wanted to openly confirm it. She would confirm this answer, like any other.

"Yes." she answerer, matching his pitch. "I am very worried. Why would you leave her with another _Arrancar_? Aren't you worried about her?"

A question she knew he had the answer to. She was asking it so he could settle it. She wanted to hear him very much.

"She'll be fine."

At that point, he couldn't bring himself to.

She sighed. "We can sense if Szayel tries to do something to her."

"He probably already did something to her. Remember, he has his gadgets."

She winced. She seemed to be doing that a lot since they arrived here. "Oh, right…"

"Probably has one of his gadgets inside of us, too."

"Quit freaking me out."

"Suck it up." He sighed again leaning back against the wall. She repeated his action, shuffling around to make herself comfortable, inclining the chair back further. A shout ripped through the air when the stool slipped forward and brought her down to the floor, butt first. Another cry came out of her as the pain of the fall registered to her.

Despite himself he laughed. Lilynette gingerly shifted to her knees, muttering curses all the way, while rubbing her backside delicately.

"Son of a bitch," she swore at him, "Quit laughing."

"Payback's a bitch," he chuckled, recalling the events of the night before. She growled at him. His amusement still evident, he picked up the stool and set it up to her side. The lime-head growled at the stool, as if it were responsible for all her troubles.

"How can you expect me not to laugh when you're doing this to yourself?" He sniggered, petting the girl's Hollow Mask gently. She pouted.

"Quit making fun of me."

"All right, fine." With his other hand he pulled the young girl to his body, embracing her in a one arm hug. She sighed, shuffling towards him on her knees, arms lifting to return his hold.

"When we get back to the room, you can play around with her." He whispered to her, stroking her hair soothingly. She smiled.

"What about you?"

"Me? I'll just be the badly hung wallflower you think I am." Now it was Lilynette's turn to laugh.

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**A/N:** Troublesome chapter for various reasons. :'D Would've updated this the same week I last updated (since I had it written out by then), but I wished to add some extra bits into it, since I was initially not satisfied with the original results (I had kind of dragged it out).

**greyearth07** - Yeah, still not going so good with the update timing. (:D Dedication, however, is an important virtue for me, especially when it comes to this story. I'm not giving up on this any time soon, though, so I'll do everything in my power to improve the updating. :'D

**Emmy The Ice princess** - Holy Spirit, all of your comments took me by surprise. :D Thank you for all that. They really brighten my day. I'm impressed myself that I managed to keep your attention span. :3

My gratitude to **DeadPoetsSociaty**, **Emmy The Ice princess**, **Lady AlyseB630** (for faving the fic), **E.V.I.T.**, **Emmy The Ice princess** (again), and **Lady AlyseB630** (again) for alerting.

Thank you to everyone that reads the fic. _Ja mata ne_!


	19. Chapter 19

Leaving the sanctum of the sitting room, Orihime followed after the _Arrancar_. It was only when she realized how dark the hall she walked into did she begin to second guess herself. If Szayel decided to attack her, she was pretty sure she would not escape unharm.

But eventually the darkness gave way to light, and she saw the midst of a room further down. The lights flickered every few seconds leaving her in darkness every other moment, and so her own heart began skipping beats.

"You will have to pardon the mess. I was in the middle of something when I noticed the intrusion." Szayel's stretched out an arm to gesture around him.

She found nothing wrong with the hall. Simply what laid beyond frighten her more than anything else she has yet to experience.

"S-szayel –san, w-what is this?"

Horror undoubtedly filled her eyes. When she took in a breath from the shock of the sight, she gagged, violently coughing. She slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the wretched sound. Nose flaring, sucking in as much air as she could muster, she soon regretted it when the awful stench invaded her once more.

"I figured you wouldn't like it." The _Arrancar_ drawled, pacing around the sight. His eyes barely gazed over the stilled forms of two other _Arrancars_ hanging over his head, blood dripping from their bodies. Some drops caught on his uniform, red seeping over the white. He stared at the stains, attention caught for the moment. "Gracious, that'll be difficult to remove." He lifted a hand, swatting the limping leg closest to him.

Orihime gasped when she heard a groan come from the still form. Her eyes widen, disbelief surging through her.

"Please! Let them go! They're still alive and in so much pain!" With each word escaping her mouth, the human's heart tightens further and further. She truthfully did not know where the courage was coming from, but one thing was certain – she would not stand by witnessing someone else who was hurt.

Szayel regarded her with a seemly bored look. "Oh, and what would you do if I told you no?"

Orihime opened her mouth to reply.

"Nothing, that's what." He finished for her. Her wide gray eyes stared after him as he walked over to another side of the room. His hand wrapped around what appeared to be a pole, swinging downward on the floor as he approached her and the other two presences. It was lifted to the air, sharp pointed end apparent for the eye to see.

He lifted his other hand, pole swung down to it, pointed end dangerously close to one of the prone figure's legs. A sudden urge to look away stood out within Orihime, but her eyes stared straight on the scene promising pain. Upward they moved, taking in the features, evidently masculine, of the prone form. Past the bulk chest, they stopped on his face.

Dark blue eyes devoid of lively light returned her glance.

This was enough to make her move.

"**Santen Kesshun**!"

The moment her shield materialized was just as Szayel thrust the pole forward. Both forces impacted, though against such an object, her shield stayed firm.

A harsh grimace emerged on her face, and while she felt more than just a little nervous, she aimed her glared at the pinkette.

For a moment she thought she saw a satisfied smile appear on the _Arrancar_'s face.

"Well, well, someone wishes to be defiant." The pole dropped to his side, his upper face hidden behind his bangs with only his glasses sticking out into sight. "Do you want to die?"

She gulped but held her ground. "I won't die today."

A smirk, visible past his hair, appeared. "I see."

He held the pole up, swinging it down quickly. Orihime brought her shield before her not a moment too soon. The force of his makeshift weapon would not be anywhere near strong enough to break through it, she was sure. But if he drew out his sword…

Her gaze turned uncertain but she could not afford to hesitant now. One hand lifted to her hairpins, words at the tip of her tongue, ready to be said. Golden eyes flickered over her, before the _Arrancar _gave an insufferable sigh.

"Just to let you know, though I'm certain you already know… you're just making everything difficult on yourself."

She stood there pondering his words, eyes missing the movement of his other hand.

A pink light blasted to the direction of one of hanging bodies. The cry of pain splitting the air was undeniable. Orihime watched in horror at the sight of a new wave of blood washed over them.

"Stop it!" The words quickly left her mouth without pause, though she understood its futility. Still, she inched towards the two prone bodies, eyes trained on the _Arrancar_.

"You don't really listen, do you?" The pole lay leisurely in his hand, his amber eyes studying her. She felt like a freak, with the way he eyed her. But the point of the matter lied in the fact if she didn't do something now, pain would be guaranteed.

Subconsciously, her hand reached for her hairpins. The words she needed to say were at the tip of her tongue.

'_Can it be done?_' The words came expectedly, yet unexpected. Orihime could not tell if she was the one who thought of them. The Rikkas? Maybe, but it didn't sound like them.

Regardless of their origin, she knew it was right. Something needed to be done. Her fingers grazed over the accessory, a tingling sensation shocking her slightly. They twitched, the feeling in them going slightly numb. The feeling settled down quickly, but for a moment, it felt like she could not move them at all. And then, a slight surge of strength went through her.

She couldn't be sure of its identify however, this power sent a surge of strength through her, it was like…

…she can do anything.

"**Koten Zanshun**!" Even without her hand to guide the way, Tsubaki emerged from her hairpin and headed straight for the _Arrancar_. Szayel reacted by lifting his arm, confidence apparent in his stance. What neither he nor Orihime expected was the Shun Shun Rikka piercing through his _Hierro_. He swore, moving his arm so that the attack would not pierce his chest. Tsubaki flew past, releasing from his armored form. He turned around inspecting the damage.

"_Damn, woman! No__w that's what I call determination!_" The floral named creature returned to her hairpins in a flash of light, but his soul was on edge, waiting for her command to be sent again.

With this newfound determination guiding her, she cried out another command. The familiar ovular shield surrounded the wounded up above, the shape tearing through the chains which held the bodies overhead.

Szayel glanced up at the human, surprise in his eyes, though his face seemed rigid. "You have fight in you, eh? One just needs to motivate you to a point, I see."

Orihime eyes narrowed slightly at the suspicious man, all the while attempting to aim as much of this new surge of power to healing the wounded _Arrancars_. Her breathes were starting to come out in short breathes, but she needed to stand conscious in face of the looming threat. She didn't need to be experience at feeling reiastsu to know the _Espada_ was building up for another attack.

Szayel eyed the girl once more, quickly realizing she was at her end. He lifted a finger at her, _Cero_ building up, when he felt the hairs on the back of his next lift in a foreboding sensation.

'_You._'

Just one word and it was enough to make him withdrew his hand. Irritation visible showed on his face as he watches the girl's continue in her healing. With every breathe she took, her face paled, sweat breaking on her skin. Even though he _felt_ she wanted to keel over, on her shaky legs, she remained standing.

And she continued to stand even when the shield retracted. Her body wobbled when she straighten up, eyes half closed in exhaustion. The breathe rushed out of her when one foot finally slipped and she fell back…

'

''

'

**A/N:** It's been _forever_ since my last update. I kind of lost my touch... The amateur haikus I put there will be delayed until I find my groove.

_Ja mata ne, minna-san_. Sorry about that.


	20. Chapter 20

Shifting the body of the young girl in his arms, Starrk reentered the sitting room, irritated. Lilynette walked past him, looking over her shoulder to make sure he didn't act up. For sure, she had reason to be cautious. He needed to be watched otherwise he'll blow his top.

Not a moment after, Szayel came in, his attention drawn elsewhere on the opposite side of the room. Starrk snarled at him, but a slight pinch to his side snapped him out of it. Nearing the groups of seats, he lowered Orihime onto the couch; waiting for Lilynette to approach before moving away His ward looked on, body looming safely over the prone human girl. She looked around warily, eye landing on the other side where Szayel was arranging some of his stuff – exactly what was beyond her.

"You're going to do something about this, aren't you?" The _Primera_ growled. The _Octava_ simply shrugged in response, and no other answer came out of him. Starrk flexed his hand, a sudden urge to strangle someone appearing.

"Starrk." Lilynette's voice came up, the name said in a way clearing telling him to cool it. So long has it been since he felt any sort fury towards _anyone_, he had come to think he wouldn't hear that tone of voice again. His hand tightens into a hard fist.

"We're leaving." He looked at her, his face telling her where to go. She nodded, a thin arm slipping beneath the girl's body, lifting her up into the air with ease. Soon after, the pair disappeared in a quick blur. The _Arrancar_'s gray eyes shifted to his fellow brethren. "You're still being held responsible for this."

"Responsible for what?" The pinkette snapped, turning away from his work for the moment. "To observe is what I enjoy to do. Please realize she's the sole human in this castle, and I will not be the only one with spurred curiosity."

Not finding a suitable response to the question, Starrk turned around, grumbling all the while. Szayel stared after him, a calculating look on his face.

"Hold on."

Though his judgment told him better, he did as he was requested. Szayel approached, hands fiddling with something when he came into Starrk's range of vision.

"I'm sure you know this, but since the one who usually holds the most leveled head isn't here, I'll be the one to remind you."

He inched forward, a serious veil falling over his face. "The human is a prisoner, not a guest. It may seem so but don't be deceived by the illusion, otherwise you'll end of luring her into a false actuality."

He moved away, a gloved fist extended towards the other. Starrk looked at the limb in question before one of his hands hovered beneath the drawn-out one. It uncurled, a silver trinket falling into the awaiting hand.

The brunet withdrew his hand, evident interest in his eyes. Szayel walked away.

"It is the device Aizen-sama had given to Ulquiorra for her. She had removed it she changed out of her human world clothes. Give it back to her."

His eyes lingered on the object before straying over to his fellow brethren. "So basically, this is to keep an eye on Orihime?"

"Geez, aren't you sharp? Among other things. I don't need to tell you what. You don't need to concern yourself. It won't hurt her to wear it, I can assure you. What good will come from killing off _Hueco Mundo_'s resident human?" He laughed at that, walking back to whatever waited for him on the further corner of the room.

Without a second thought, Starrk _sonido_'d out of the room. As soon as he could visibly make out anything, his eyes met with Lilynette's concern face.

"You nearly blew it." Her hands were fisted on her thin hips, tiny foot thumping the floor. Instead of giving her the answer she demanded, his eyes sweep the room for the girl's figure.

"Listen to me!" He grunted when she stomped on his foot. Her small hand fisted his tunic, tugging him forcibly close to her level. He looked into her sole eye, pink shimmering in worry. "I'm just as worried about her, but you had no reason to get angry like that."

"He could have tried something with her…"

"Hey! I'm still talking!" He winced, lowering to his knees after the outburst. When Lilynette got like this, it was best to remain as passive as possible before she did something undesirable. "Starting a fight with the other _Arrancars_, with another _Espada_ is not the way to go, Starrk! An underling I can understand, but Szayel isn't going to take any threat from you sitting down! Plus, Aizen-sama will know what happen, and if he does…"

The _Primera_'s face lost a bit of hue. "Yes, but…"

"You know what Szayel was referring to." And he knew how she knew about it. He hung his head, keeping his comment to himself. The young girl sighed, for once finding her partner's reaction unsatisfactory.

"I'm not saying we should feel ashamed about it, but I don't think we should be bringing ourselves attention like that. In the meantime, we should probably keep Hime-chan away from the other _Arrancars_."

At that, Starrk lifted a brow. "This is coming from you?"

His response was a well-placed punch to the face.

"All the same, I guess keeping her coped up in here would drive her bananas… we can take her around but with one of us with her. We're not leaving her alone anymore. At least, not with people we don't trust." She quickly amended when Starrk's eyes flashed at her former statement. Huffing, he turned away from her, propping his chin up with his hand. She giggled, despite herself. "You're acting like such a kid." She sat right next to him on the floor, the two partaking in their recent habit of watching over Orihime. They remain in silence before the shorter of the two broke it. "Hey, what's that you got in your hand?"

He took one look at the device. "Ah, this is a little gift from our friend from the lab."

Lilynette's nose scrunched. "You sure you want to give that to her?"

"…If he wanted to harm her, he would have done so before I got there. I'll assume it's safe."

Her consent a noise of agreement, he shifted towards Orihime, taking her arm in his hand. He stopped for a moment. His fingers gently pressed against her small wrist. Such a fragile thing. If he put even the slightest strength into his touch, he would break the limb. His eyes follow the path of her arm, all the way up to her face. Her large eyes hid the expressive gray panes to her soul. If he were anyone else, he would think she slept in peace. But he could sense the turmoil within her soul. Something had happen to her back when she was with Szayel, but he didn't know what. His fellow _Arrancar_ had chosen not to share on what took place. But despite the distance between the two, he had felt the sharp jump in her spiritual pressure, and the distress within. He would have been there sooner if it hadn't been for the other weird sense he discovered.

A sudden increase in her spiritual pressure… Orihime had a decent reiatsu for a human, that much could be certain, but the dramatic upsurge appeared from out of nowhere. One moment, he felt it like it normally does. The next, it sparked and grew, so much so it felt like Orihime even… disappeared. He didn't know what it meant. Her reiatsu expanded to the point it threaten to swallow the girl whole. With the thought, Starrk panicked and immediately sent a message over to Szayel. In the next moment, the spiritual spike lessen, though not to a preferably degree. Although it no longer draped over her to the point of waning her existence, it still lurked over. Gradually, it fell back, until finally it was a near unnoticeably speck inside of her. Before he could even mentally question why it was still present, it became active again, thwarting within her soul.

When he _sonido_'d to the very back of the place, she was in the midst of collapsing on the floor. Catching her in his arms, he proceeded to bombard his fellow _Arrancar_ with questions he got no answers to. If anyone bothered to look at the situation his way, one could possibly understand why he would be so livid.

He would follow Lilynette's well-meaning words. Nothing will be accomplished if he continued to stew in anger. He gave Orihime one last look, fist tightening.


	21. Chapter 21

A throbbing headache raged inside of Orihime's head as she finally stirred from sleep. She groaned, irritation forming as she tried ignoring the pain developing in her head. Her fingers got to work massaging her temple in order to ease the ache away.

"Sleep well, Hime-chan?" She looked up at the nickname, catching sight of Lilynette perched on the arm of a sofa. Her singular eye lingered on Orihime for a bit before closing, a smile spreading across her face. "You certainly slept like a baby!"

Orihime felt a blush come on. "Oh, sorry." She sat up, looking sheepish. "Was I snoring too loud?"

"Nah, I was just messing with you!" Lilynette jumped over, landing right in front of her. "You weren't even out that long. Glad you're up, though. Starrk was boring me."

"Huh… where is Coyote-kun, anyway?"

"He _leefft_. I guess I was boring him too. He didn't say anything when he walked out, so I don't know if he's coming back or what."

Orihime made a slight noise in confirmation, eyes looking in the direction of the door. She saw the telltale lighting of the door being accessed, the swooshing open to reveal the _Primera_ _Espada_ himself. She yelped at the close proximity, although it didn't stop her from crashing into his chest.

"Whoa! Are you all right, Orihime?" His hands caught her by the arms, steadying her.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She noticed her hands were planted on his chest, quickly amending the action by backing away. "Uh, I didn't know you were coming back so soon."

He stared at her for a moment before answering. "I was just confirming a few things." He stared across the room, probably at Lilynette, when he next turned back to her. "Are you well enough to go walking?" Her hand subconsciously lifted to her head.

"Starrk! Come on! She just woke up!"

His eyes shifted over to Lilynette after her outburst. He lowered his head, sighing. "You're right. Sorry about that. I'll be back."

He turned to leave, stopping in place when he felt the back of his uniform bunch up in place. "Wait, don't go." The pleading in her tone confessed him to turn back. His breath hitched when he caught on to her large doe eyes looking pleadingly at him. "You just got back! Do you have to go?" He sighed.

"No, I don't." He turned back around, placing a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair. "I can stay if you want."

She shook her head. "No, I've been inside a lot. You said you can take me out for a little bit?" He nodded. "Then I can come with you."

"Hime-chan, are you sure?" Lilynette walked up beside the two, looking up at them. Orihime nodded.

"Sure. I won't feel better if I just stay cooped up in here." The blonde arched a brow.

"Feel better? See you don't feel all right!"

"Well, I really would like to finish the tour around _Las Noches_. I mean, it's because of me that it got interrupted anyway…"

Starrk gave her a look. "Do you regret what you did?"

With a fierce shake of her head, she answered. "No, no, of course not!"

To her surprise, he smiled. A rather faint one, but it was plain on his face. "Glad to hear it."

"Is it really a good idea to go out right now, though?"

"Lilynette, I thought you'd be the first to jump at the opportunity to leave."

"You know, what I mean." Her sole pink eye stared hard into her partner's eyes. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" Starrk shook his head before responding to the human's question.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. We can still do this. Orihi- Ow!"

Lilynette put more pressure into her foot, stepping harder on Starrk's foot. He bended forward, his head dipping down to the girl's level. In the next moment, he strengthen up, a grim look on his face. Nevertheless, the smile from before returned to his face. "Like I said, let's go." Lilynette huffed, throwing her hands in the air and stomping outside. Orihime held out a hand after her, but another hand caught her wrist.

"Don't worry about it." He moved her hand towards his general direction. A clicking sound rang from her hand as he moved it towards his face –

Clicking?

"Huh? When did that get there?" Her eyes fell on the thin form of a bracelet on her wrist. She pulled her hand back, wondering why it looked so familiar. "Wait a minute, isn't this…"

She recalled when Ulquiorra came with a change of clothes – the _Arrancar_ uniform she wore now – she had removed the gadget. Up to now, she believed she had placed next to a table in the room, although she hadn't seen ever since.

"Oh, I found it lying around. I thought it would fit with your clothes so I slipped it on. Is there something wrong with that?" Starrk asked pulling her hand back his way.

"No, I thought I lost it, is all." A moment passed and Starrk let her hand go. "Um, I didn't know what to do with it, so I held on to it here…"

Starrk hummed in confirmation, walking out into the hallway. His fingers flicked towards him in a gesture demanding her to move. She hesitated, feeling a slight dizzy spell pass over her. Nonetheless, she moved forward. The hall was the same as before, the white walls as spotless as before, the black floor reflecting the image of those standing on it. She watched her legs and its shadow moved on the floor until she caught with another pair of legs.

"Are you all right, Hime?"

"…I'm fine." Her hand reached to her warm forehead. The halls were all the same, and yet she felt so out of place standing in the midst of the likeness. She closed her eyes for a moment taking in some deep breathes. From beyond her shut lids, past the darkness she saw a shimmer of light flickering, reaching for her. A soft cool touch made contact with her hand, a tiny touch she felt some time before. Just a moment after she recalled, a refreshing wave swept through her. It took away some form of weight of her. She didn't even realize how heavy she felt until it came off of her.

The next moment she opened her eyes. The pointed end of a horn met her sight. Following the extended bone led her to eye of Lilynette. The girl _Arrancar_ looked up at her with a little bit of concern.

"You sure you don't want to go back to the room, Hime?" Orihime met her look with a reassuring smile, a hand reaching for her covered head.

"I'm fine. In fact, I'm feeling better now."

Lilynette looked at the human weirdly, but decided against pushing it. If she were being honest with herself, she was glad Orihime left. She didn't like remaining in one place for too long – she could blame Starrk for that – so she was looking forward to ditching the place for a little bit.

"Hey, Hime, you up for a game?" The human turned to her at full attention, nodding in agreement. Lilynette grinned. "Great. It's called 'Hiding away from the Starrk.'"


	22. Chapter 22

Starrk stood in the hallway stumped. With his hands in his uniform's pockets and his eyes closed, he'd probably arise a few questions in the thoughts of any passing by _Arrancar_. At the moment he could not feel bothered at what others would think. His senses reached out and beyond, trying to feel the familiar presence of his two wards to no avail. Feeling frustration, he soon stomped down the hallway. Something in the back of his head told him this little ploy had Lilynette's name written all over it. His pint sized sidekick he could understand for any disappearing act she could pull, but Orihime? He was a bit concerned about leaving her all alone. Common sense told him to back off when she left ahead of him back in the room so he gave her some space to use for a breather. However, when he walked forward without seeing a hint of yellow or auburn, the slight hints of worry reared its tiny head.

Now, a good ten minutes went by without any sign of them, and he really felt the urge to throttle something. Preferably someone thin with blonde hair and a single pink eye, but at the moment he couldn't afford to choose, let alone blow his top where anyone can see him lose his cool.

Instead he opts to concentrate and find them by seeking out their spiritual pressure. Granted, it didn't work out at first, but he suspected it had to do with the distance originally between them. As he suspected, he saw the little flicker of her energy some ways away. He smirked, though the quirk quickly fell in place of a frown. He found Lilynette, but he still couldn't see Orihime.

If he found Lilynette, Orihime would be there. He settled it with that, _sonidoing_ to his destination.

"Took you long enough to get here." The blonde grinned in a large way, the kind which told Starrk she was really relaxed. Not really a rare look, but with all the events occurring in _Las Noches_ the look still managed to take him by surprise. Not only was it unexpected, it was worrying.

"Where's Orihime?"

"Hello to you, too." Her sole eye rolled, the girl turning, short hair swaying around her. "Not here, if that's what you're wondering."

"You let her out of your sight?"

"Dude, calm down. I wouldn't have left her hanging like that. I know where she is, but I'm not telling you anytime soon." Again the impish grin appeared on her face.

He growled stomping past her, knowing full well she was following after him. Though the search did not find him the answers he sought, he would at least try to look around the vicinity. Surely Lilynette wouldn't have let Orihime to fend for herself from afar. The idea of barging into the many rooms of the castle didn't please at all whatsoever, but he had to find her before anything happened to her. He was her caretaker, after all.

The first room he went into was empty, utterly. Not a scrap of furniture was seen, not a hint of bright orange hair. He immediately tried another one only to get the same results as the first. The next one offered him a bit more results, seeing a set of sofas but nothing else. And so continued his search, his searches meeting with more empty rooms with no sign of the human girl. He kept at it, not wanting to give in to his growing frustration, but once he reached room number thirty-nine – he counted – which was far from where he started off, he finally broke.

"Lilynette! Where is she?"

It was hard to notice, but her small face held a few cresses around the corners of her mouth and eye. Instead of yelling back at his outburst, she simply turned around full circle. "You went right past her."

With the worry gnawing away at his psych, Starrk failed to double take and further question her word choice. It took a bit more time from revising the other rooms for the thought to finally occur to him.

"What do you mean I went past her?"

The female _Arrancar_ adopted an annoyed look, glaring at him. "If I told you that, this wouldn't be a game."

"Lilynette, don't play with me. I want answers…"

She gulped when she felt the drop in Starrk's spiritual pressure. "Okay, okay! She's over there! In that room!"

Following where she had pointed him to, he went into the room, only to find it empty as before. When she finally managed to catch up with him, she stood ramrod still in place at the cold aura centered in the first _Espada_.

"Lilynette, tell me where Orihime is right now…"

"I'm serious! She was right there!"

The empty room told otherwise. Starrk wanted to do a lot of things, but instead settled to sighing at the sad results before him. Next to him, Lilynette stepped into the room, looking pointedly around. Nothing seemed unusual about it. Just the typical four corner space, white in color like the rest of the castle, with the few measly furniture as decoration, usually a simple seat and a table with a rug to add something different to the otherwise bland of it.

Despite her looks, Lilynette knew better than to underestimate the innocent façade. She herself was a walking testament to that. She knew she last saw her human companion in this room, and while she had been unable to keep track of her by other means, she believed Orihime wouldn't walk away without a solid reasoning. Her one eye swept over everything, hands touching the cool surface of love seats, the low counter. Her feet shuffled over the slightly dull rug for a clue to the whereabouts of her friend. Approaching sides of the seats arms, she kicked her right foot forward.

Tip of her boot connected with a solid surface.

Eye blinked.

An _unseen_ surface, for she flicked her toes a few more times to confirm what happened in that moment. When the action wasn't suffice to put her questions at ease, Lilynette moved her hands forward, thin fingers splayed out to feel the invisible wall between the sofa and table.

"Starrk!"

Knowing the urgency in her voice would call her fellow to her, she continued to grope around, testing the space her discovery took. When he walked up to her, he observed her scrutiny, quickly understanding her conduct. A hand went forward, staying at a point he'd seen her hand pause over, the invisible barrier pushing against him. His steel eyes narrowed, a sort of spark coursing through his arm, with a hint of a familiar ting caressing the unity of souls within him.

He took in a breath, the sigh escaping him carrying all of his worries and frustrations away.

"I found you, Orihime."

The softly spoken words were an onset. After his utterance, a soft, accustomed glow stressed the figure of the wall – a half-sphere embedded to the ground – and from within the light, he saw the small figure of his ward. The barrier melted away, and he soon caught sight of her glossy auburn hair, her body slowly coming to view with each second. Her eyes remained closed, hiding her soul-piercing eyes from view and, for whatever reason, he longed to see them.

As if she read his mind, her eyes opened, those purple tinted orbs looking up at him with a mischievous twinkle. "Yeah, I guess you did." A sweet smile pulled at her lips as she lifted a hand, looking at him expectantly. The one hand hanging limply in the air spun around, palm up in the air, cupping her small hand within its grasp.

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**A/N:** Okay, couldn't resist doing an author's note here. Mostly because I like talking (and because you're free to ignore this if you want, obviously). Of course, this note isn't really exciting. I just wanted to say, this is not a very eventful chapter. Sorry about that. Well, in my defense, it kind of is, but for some reason I feel a little uncomfortable with it. I don't know why. Anyway, I'm attempting to be a bit more descriptive in my... well, descriptions. It's the exchange for the short chapter length. I'm really sorry for those who (still) wish for longer chapters, but I write better (and quicker in the case of my summer break) if the chapters are short. I mean it. I'm having a difficult time concentrating on the longer chapters for **Guardian, Intangible** though I'm also trying to incorporate detailed words there as well, so I'm also being a bit of a perfectionist with that. Oh, well.

Thank you for reading. _Ja mata ne_!


	23. Chapter 23

Though the halls were stark white, empty as the blandness of the color, a trio of fellows walked with long steps, cheer in their tones. A gentle ring, piercing laughter with a hint of a rich aftereffect – those who could hear would turn their heads to the booming voices. They could care less of the attention they drew upon themselves, for the three seemed to be enveloped in a word all their own.

"Haha! You had to see the look on your face, Starrk!"

The _Arrancar_ in question merely laughed, knowing where Lilynette would be drawing this to.

"I mean, your eyes were even wide and everything! I thought they were gonna pop out or something!"

With each new detail the younger looking _Arrancar_ put in, the more laughter she brought out of the human girl with them. She hid her laughter behind small hands, but her closed eyes and the light pink blush on her face gave her amusement away. The tallest of the three looked on over, pleased to see the tired look off her face. Then again, she has been nothing but cheer and joy for the past minutes.

"Tell me all about again, Hime! What was the look on his face when he first entered the room? I just love the way you describe it!"

"Okay, Lilynette, that's enough…"

"Seriously, man! Starrk looked about ready to burst! I mean, he…!"

Her sentence promptly ended when Starrk pinched her on the side. Despite herself, Orihime giggled at the antics between the two. It oddly reminded her of how siblings were often portrayed on the TV shows she loved to watch. The reminder drew her lips down into a frown for a moment.

Siblings…

From her side, Lilynette raged, pointing at the red mark on her waist, pink eye aiming all of her anger to the taller _Arrancar_. Starrk merely scratched his head, though the expression on his face clearly showed an impish side. He pats the top of her Hollow mask remains as a sort apologetic gesture. She took advantage of the move to grab onto his arm, dragging it towards her, biting his hand. He cried out, attempting to drag his arm away, dragging her along with him.

This sort of event… could be considering bonding. A sibling bonding.

In the end she smiled, finding enjoying at seeing this sense of normality from these two. It made being here more bearable.

Eventually, the two settled their quarrel – Starrk settling on one side of Orihime with Lilynette on the other – before the three continued their walk. She didn't know exactly how long they went at it, but she enjoyed the time spent with them. Pleased by it, even in the silence which followed them after.

"So," Lilynette started arms crossing over the back of her head, "what are we up to?" An interesting question, though Orihime wouldn't mind passing time with them like this.

In response, Starrk shrugged. "Wherever we end up."

"Oh, wow, really? I actually thought you had a plan of where to go." The expression on her face said she thought otherwise.

"It always works out in the end."

"But what about Hime?"

"Oh, I don't mind." The girl responded to Lilynette's lament. "After all, Coyote-san said he would give me a tour. I'm okay to whatever he decides to do."

Lilynette paused to give her a smile, before turning back to glare at the _Primera_. "Come on! Don't you have any idea where to go? We can't go off wandering around the place without a goal, Starrk!"

A thoughtful look passed over his features, his eyes shimmering slightly. Orihime stared at his eyes a bit longer as he speculated.

"We can always try going to the _Sala_."

The girl-like _Arrancar_'s eye sparkled. "Oh, yeah! We can go there!"

"The… _Sala_?"

Both _Arrancar_ turned to look at her, though it was Lilynette who answered her. "Yeah! The _Sala_ is basically like a hangout place for us to go to whenever we're bored. The silver-haired Shinigami had it designed for us in case we wanted some entertainment. It's actually kind of cool! Apache and the others told me a lot of the things there are from the human world."

"Is that so?" Orihime's voice certainly carried a hint of surprise and pleasant pleasure.

"Yeah! Do you know what a 'board game' is?"

Soon, Lilynette launched questions, one after another, sending the human's mind into turmoil. It wasn't so influential, however, every word through her back into a time when danger lurk in her surroundings.

"They have a kotatsu table?"

"Oh, that table with the blanket around it? That's what it's called? That things frickin' warm. Starrk always likes napping under there."

"I don't blame you! It's one of my favorite things about winter. It feels really nice and warm, doesn't it?" She aimed the question at Starrk who looked taken by surprise.

"Uh, well, yeah…"

"It really does lull one to sleep. I've fell victim to the kotatsu one too many times! But do you know what's the best thing about sitting around the kotatsu is? Eating your favorite treat – it just wraps the experience around nicely. I don't feel so guilty about falling asleep afterwards especially if I have a full belly."

"We haven't tried that out yet. We should do that when we get there, Starrk."

No sooner did Lilynette mention this did the trio reach one of the invisible doorways to a room. The tall brunet held his arm out, contact with the surface activating the hidden mechanism. With a swoosh, it opened to the most colorful sight Orihime had seen since arriving here.

The room was still similar to the rest she had seen – stark white walls with equal sides and corners. What it had over her room dealt with size, taking up space she summarized was about four of her rooms together. But while her place of residence only had the moon for lighting clear signets of light etched the ceiling from one spot to the other. The most breathtaking sight of the room, however, remain on the ground level. Scattered among the various furniture of different sizes and shapes, on or off the table, were an assortment of items for the purpose of entertainment. She thought she caught the sight of a familiar board game, her heart leaping at the sight. She honestly stood trembling in the doorway, still taking in the sight of everything.

"Hey, Lilynette! Over here!"

"Yo, Rose! Give me a moment!" She waved back the greeting at the dark-skinned _Arrancar_ across the room, seated around one of the many rounded tables in the room. She turned around a foot, bouncing slightly in place, pink eye excitedly on Starrk. "Mind if I take Hime over to meet the girls?" It seemed so casual of a notion, the way she looked up to Starrk as an elder relative.

Without much of a thought, he nodded Orihime's way. "You'll have to wait. I want to borrow her for a few moments. I'll give her back when I'm done, 'kay?"

Lilynette's wide smile fell a bit in place, but quickly recovered after she barked in laughter. "Hurry up, will you? We want to play some Mahjong."

The pair watched her run off to meet her fellow brethren. Orihime tore away her glance first, studying Starrk's calm features. His eyes flickered, catching notice of her examination. A lazy grin tugged at his lips, a hand lifting towards her when he spoke.

"I want to show you something."

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**A/N:** Starrk-Orihime interaction in the next chapter? No! ...You guys can totally see through that lie. Or am I telling the truth?

_Ja mata ne_!


	24. Chapter 24

Taking one of the many doors littering the room, on the north end, a door actually standing out instead of camouflaging like the rest, Orihime entered another corridor. Narrower than the last one she traversed, it stood out with blue instead of white walls, the floor no longer mirroring the world above it. It was a peach hue, appearing bright under the lights. Her shadow seemed all over the place, circling her feet as she walked the short path to wherever Starrk wished to take her.

"The kitchen is down this hall." He answered her silent question.

She adopted an excited look. "I haven't been there yet. I'm actually kind of curious. Where do you get all the food and recipes and dishes? I'm still trying to think how such materials can be available here."

He gave her the benefit of the doubt. It's not common knowledge, especially considering how exceedingly far and wide _Hueco Mundo_ truly was. He knew much about the little known things in this hollow world thanks to his advanced age and the circumstances in which he survived, but he never indulged. Now in his current form, and with his newfound friend, he wished to share the secrets he knew and learn more about his own world.

…and maybe even of her.

"Well, it may not appear so because of how the surface looks, but the underground surface of _Hueco Mundo_ is fertile. There are plant life and animal life in many corners. Those who have stayed long enough eventually learned how to use these things to their advantage to assist in their survival."

"Oh! Like agriculture! That sounds neat!"

"Agriculture?"

"Uh-huh. Humans live off the bounty of nature for their survival, for as long as they've existed. That's kind of neat. So Hollows can also live off the land. Well, Hollows are basically the spirits of people…"

Starrk looked at the girl with interest. "Like humans?"

"Yeah. For some reason it never occurred to me such a thing was possible." Her brows knitted close together, a look of mild frustration taking over her features. "I feel like such a hypocrite."

"Don't feel bad. It's not common knowledge. Many Hollows follow their primal urge to feed upon others. Actually, it's kind of uncommon to run into Hollows who have left the beaten path to live in such a way. It's kind of complicated to explain…"

"Actually, I think I can understand what you're trying to say. It's kind of hard to imagine Hollows as sitting around waiting for a crop to grow." She looked off in the distance, at the door coming closer and closer to them with each step they took. "It's kind of like in the Soul Society, isn't it?"

She stopped for a moment, placing a hand on the wall and taking a moment to feel around. A gentle trickle responded to her probing with a nibbling trace of her reiatsu. "Everything around here seems to derive from Reishi. It's the same for everything else here – the reason why Hollows devour human souls."

He gulped, suddenly taken by the human girl said. His eyes flicked in front of him, hand reaching to open the door leading into the kitchen.

Opening the door revealed a catastrophic discovery. "The hell?"

Orihime's eyes took in the state of the supposed 'Kitchen.' An arrangement of foods and items scattered all over the place, a vibrant stand-off. Browns, reds, yellow, even some blue – it wasn't a huge mess, but clearing something had taken place here with no one left behind to clean after. Some of the cabinets were left open, revealing the objects left behind from the disturber's wake. A few prints were left around the large refrigerator doors, bringing Orihime's attention over to it. Getting to her knees she took a closer look, her hand grasped the handle of the door, pulling it open. The cool air spilled out, touching her face.

"Hey, who'th 'ere?"

Her eyes dilated at the voice. Such a small childish voice, and it came from within the ice box.

"Hello?" She opened the door further, peering inside. A mess of green shifted, a skull remnant sitting neatly on top of her head, big amber eyes filled with fear turning to locate her. A pale round face with a strange pink blot marking her from cheek to cheek, cutting over her small nose. Clothed in green she stood out in the white box, body small enough to fit on the lowest shelf. Her back was turned to her, though her anxious face locked on her. A desire to scoop the girl in her arms overwhelmed Orihime, even though the back of her head warned her of the girl's identity as an _Arrancar_.

"Um, are you all right, little one?" She cooed, her arms wrapped around her knees in front of her so the young _Arrancar_ could see them. Slowly, the worry left her features, the slight trembling of her form dissipating. She turned her body towards, a growing smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm juth hungwee." She fidgeted, fingers toying with the hem of her cloak. It appeared she was waiting for something, like perhaps waiting for something.

"Looks like we have a food snatcher on our hands." An amused voice from behind came. The green-hair girl jumped in place, panic quickly returning on her face. Orihime calmly turned to address Starrk.

"She was really hungry. Hungry enough to eat off a lot from the cupboards."

"I'll say."

"Am I in twouboo?" Her voice hitched, evidence of a lisp cutely punctuating her words. Orihime aw'd.

"She's so cute."

"What's your name, little one?" Starrk now questioned her, leaning over slightly over the two, his voice dropping down a level to appear tender for the youth. "How did you get here?"

The little girl sniffed, passing an arm over her nose. "I wath hungry. I smewed food, tho I came hewe."

"'Smewed'?"

"I think she means 'smelled'." Orihime offered.

"I did." She looked left and right. "There a meth in hewa."

"Well, there wasn't one here last time." Starrk sighed, a hand lifting to scratch at the back of his head. He gave the room a troubled look. "This will be hell to clean later."

Before she answered, Orihime scooped the tiny _Arrancar_ in her arms before lifting to her feet. The girl squirmed in her arms all the while, though with her small size, her resistance was minimal. She thought oddly of this before turning her attention to her warden. "Will it be a problem?"

He shook his head. "Not for me. The retainers of the castle." He smirked at her, a mischievous little thing falling quickly into a frown. "But the place's a mess, I don't know if I'll be able to find what I'm looking for."

The fidgeting stopped in her arms, the little rascal becoming as interested as her in what the _Primera_ would say next. "Looking for what? I can help you."

He suddenly looked shy at the proclamation. "I was hoping it'd be a surprise…" He trailed off, sighing. "I was looking for _naranjas_." A quizzical look from her asked the silent question. "I think you call them oranges. I… wanted us to eat them under the kotatsu."

Orihime blinked taking this in. A smile appeared on her face soon enough.

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**A/N:** Relationship progress! Along with the introduction of another character! Let's see what the next chapter has in store because I'm actually kind of running dry with ideas. Probably because these chapters are mostly interaction chapters. Sorry about that. There won't be much of action (if you can call what happened in Chapter 19 'action') for a while, since I'll be furthering many of the relationships between characters for time to come. Anyway until next time!

_Ja mata ne_!


	25. Chapter 25

To say she was mad would be an understatement. Loli was beyond pissed. No one knew she stood there seething, back against the wall, nonexistent as far as anyone was concerned. Not many knew this, but the female _Arrancar_ possess a knack in repressing her spiritual pressure. Quite handy, especially in these moments when she didn't want to be seen. Not that it matters. Many people seemed to be ignorant of her presence lately.

And all because of _her_. Her single eye, a glorious lavender hue, seethed with all the hate she held for the girl standing in the kitchen in the presence of the _Primera_ _Espada_. She gritted her teeth, hands curling into fists at her side. How badly she wanted to take out her frustration on the girl, unable to do anything for the simple notion of the many people interested in the human wench. Loli would admit she found the girl to be an enigma – she was a human, for the sake of her Lord Aizen, and yet she managed to catch his ever trying attention – but she felt if she ever learned what made her so special, she would be left banal to her supposed wonders. As in, why the hell would you be interested in that? After all, Lord Aizen had the Hogyoku. What can be done with this addition to his ever growing army of followers?

Unbeknownst, even to the supreme first _Espada_ and that persistent _Fraccion_ of his, she tailed them, nonetheless waiting for a glance of the mystery that is Inoue Orihime. The only thing she discovered from this utterly wasted time was how annoying the girl could be. Honestly, acting so innocent in the eyes of the _Primera_? Everyone in _Las Noches_ knew of his nature; the _Arrancar_ could be considered a pacifist. How one such as he became a top-ranking member of Lord Aizen's personal fighters was beyond even her, who could smell worthwhile information from a mile away, but even she could sense the telltale signs of an _Arrancar_ with great power. She wouldn't risk this unfound anger of hers if there was even a chance of being killed off by something far stronger than her.

It hurt to be weak. Her face softens a bit at the notion, helpless before the harsh truth. In this world, one needed to be strong. An inexorable reality every Hollow, great or small, would realized, sooner better than later. Driven by instinct, going beyond all sense of reason, Hollows went after one another in order to sate the unbearable hunger each one had. Sometimes going after human in their natural home wasn't worth the effort, the reward far from worth it – of course feasting on a large mesh of souls would appear more delectable to the mouth. But the risk… to eat or to be eaten. Going crazy from hunger doesn't sound very appealing, nor being easy prey either. The results of losing a part of yourself to another were an outcome any Hollow wished to avoid. Loli was no exception.

She had snuck her way around to get to the point where she is now. Allies? A complicated dilemma that one both needed and could do without. So many _Arrancars_ made her acquaintance it had all become a blur to her. She would make friends for one moment, only to turn her back on them whenever the moment presented itself. She was good at picking those moments. Joining Lord Aizen's cause happened to be one of them, with a lasting effect she continues to milk up. She didn't know if she should be pleased by the fact he so capable of himself he managed to evade her grasp. In a way she should be happy. Her eyes were good in seeing the details other's failed to realize, but what they did fail to see was the end to this madness called life. Aizen Sousuke brought the end, bringing a sense of security to the chaos.

Now, though, her eyes saw something else… a downfall to all which makes up this sanctuary. And she saw it within that girl. Many would think her foolish, possibly even overly bitter to the already defenseless human. Loli could care less, to be honest. What she lacked in strength she made with her mind. Anything anyone else said would be promptly ignored for her own agenda.

One thing did frustrate her as she decided what her next move would be: where the heck is Menoly? She had specifically told the girl she would return after her last errand, and now she was nowhere to be seen. It irritated her when others didn't listen to her, regardless of their reasoning.

With a heavy sigh, she stepped into the room, bringing the current residents their attention upon her. She cleared her throat slightly, placing a fake smile on her face. "I see you require assistance."

She saw the human girl give her a thoughtful look at her presence. So she remembered her, huh? The _Primera_ simply gave her an lifted brow in silent question to her appearance and purpose.

"I'll be happy to clean this up for you. No need to worry about anything. You can go about your business." To show she meant no harm – to the _Primera_ specifically – she headed towards the cleaning closet placed in this room for such a reason.

"Oh, wait! I can help you out with that!" The human wench passed over something she had in her arms to the _Espada_ – a green bundle – before rushing over to Loli's side.

"It's fine. I got this." She bit out with spite she could not keep out of her voice. Unfortunately for her, many of the castle's resident had a hard time uncovering the anger from her voice, this girl now being added in the list.

"No, I want to help. If we work together, we'll be able to clean up the kitchen faster." She flashed her a smile as she walked past her, gathering a few cleaning materials in hand. Loli remained in the same spot for a moment, trying to interpret the gesture, coming up with nothing. Oddly, she sense none of the false intentions normally found in such quirks on _Arrancars_.

'_But then, she's a _human.' Other _Arrancars_ held it in how humans were so lowly and weak. Understandably, such words were true, but it irked her when she came across such ignorance. The innermost part of a Hollow consisted of human souls, and Loli recalls a human saying she heard a Hollow once tell her: _There is strength in numbers_. Breaking all of that strength down would reveal, in the end, a being such as the one before her. That being said, ultimately, a Hollow could even take human form. With all being said and done, Inoue Orihime struck her as strange, but she would have her figured out in no time. She just needed to keep all of this in mind for future reference.

As the two settled on what supplies to use for the cleanup, the _Primera_ approached. "Orihime, what should I do?" She lit up at that. Sure, he would ask what to do instead of her, a lesser _Arrancar_, when surely she had been the first to announce any thought of cleaning.

"Well, first and foremost when need to scrub away at the mess. It would do to have any of this around." Her face adopted this strange expression as she grabbed a few bottles of cleaning chemicals, passing them to the _Arrancar_. "Could you try reaching for the higher places? If you finish, you start putting away anything you can find." With a nod he went off to do the mentioned task.

Loli took a moment to absorb the entire occurrence. The _Primera Espada_, the highest ranking soldier in Lord Aizen's personally army just took orders… from a human. '_Manipulative… Got it._'

"Loli-chan?"

She pasted a fake smile on her face. "Yes, Orihime-chan?"

"…How do you know my name?" Wonder clearly showed on her face.

"There's not a soul here in _Las Noches_ who doesn't know about you, Orihime-chan?"

The human blinked, a faint blush appearing on her face. "I-is that so?"

"Yes… You are like a celebrity here. You are Lord Aizen's prized guest, after all." The last few words slipped through partial gritted teeth.

Orihime seemed to take no note of this. "I don't feel like I'm a prize."

Loli took another moment to analyze this. Why… would this human girl speak like this? If Loli had been in her position, she would have leaping with joy, knowing she had Lord Aizen's attention. Confusion over the girl multiplied. Perhaps she was hoping to vie for the attention of other's with this weak act… not that she wasn't already weak, but most would avoid the obviously feeble. What was it about her which caught the attention of others? She wanted to know exactly how she managed to do that.

If this kept up, who knew how long it would take before Lord Aizen fell to her tricks?

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**A/N: **Introduction of another character, adding a little bit of a twist (or at least I hope it's a twist). Am I in the process of turning this into a partial drama? Maybe. Only time will tell. Thank you for reading and see ya on the next update. _Ja mata ne_!


	26. Chapter 26

"So, Lilynette, anything interesting happened to you?"

"Hmm, nothing much, just some minor dramas, no biggie." She settled further into the kobatsu, sighing at the warmth, eye opening to further emphasize her response to Mila-Rose. "Well, there's been a lot more excitement lately than before."

"Yeah, when those humans left, it got quiet again." Sun-Sung added her outlook. "Considering all the things Aizen-sama mentioned about those humans, I wouldn't think they'd leave so soon. I was actually hoping I would get to fight against them."

"Same here." Apacci looked over at Lilynette, eyebrows lifting when she caught the girl pulling a random thread sticking out from the cloth. She chuckled lowly, Lilynette not hearing her amusement over her. "They just wussed out on us when things were getting good. I heard one of the _Numeros_ saying they were having trouble with just the former _Espadas_, though. It makes you wonder just how strong they actually are, if they were having problems at the start."

"Even if they had managed to get past that, I highly doubt any of them would have made it past the real things. I heard one of them managed to fight the _Sexta _and the _Cuarta Espada_, but I highly they could have beaten them. Grimmjow, maybe, but Ulquiorra won't go down easily."

Sun-Sung straighten in her seat at the name of the latter _Arrancar_, a move Mila-Rose saw but chose to ignore as she turned her attention back on Lilynette. "There wouldn't have been any need to call any of the higher _Espadas_. They would have needed to bring a bigger army if they want for Lord Aizen to call on the higher-ups. Basically, we wouldn't have seen any action since no one would bother Lady Halibel with such weaklings."

Lilynette settled her head on the table by her chin, looking thoughtful. "I don't think Starrk would have enjoyed the notion of attacking anyway. He's just like that, so it's for the best they retreated. They won't have to suffer a loss this way."

"Where's the _fun_ in that?" Mila-Rose threw herself back on the floor, lower body still stuck under the table. The other two _Fracciones_ placed their legs on top of hers, one of them – Apacci's, she thinks – wriggling around to pester her legs. She glared at the girl, who giggles at the apparent accusation, clearing guilty.

"War isn't supposed to be fun." Lilynette snarled, though her eyes stayed on the bluenette, before shifting to the Amazon. "What would happen if those humans managed to get past all of _this_-" She hissed the last part, thin arm lifting and making a circular sign around their general group, "-and killed off one of ya? The answer's obvious, I would think, but point being, things are unpredictable. Just like the fact they went off and left us hanging." She slammed a tiny fist on the table.

Sun-Sung studied the child-like _Arrancar_ from behind her sleeve, half of her calculating look peering down on her. "Someone's appears to be a bit touchy today. Maybe you've separated from Starrk for too long."

Lilynette huffed. "As if! If I were around Starrk all the time, I think I'd go crazy. Besides, he said he was coming back soon anyway. Best get all the good talk out of the way before he comes back and hears."

"Oh, so the squirt keeps secrets from Starrk, huh?"

"Shut it Mila-Rose."

"Speaking of him, I thought I saw him leave with that human girl. Orihime, wasn't it?"

"He did." Lilynette sat up at the mention of her. "How come you knew her name, Apacci?"

She gave her a flat look. "I know I appear stupid to the rest of the population, but I think even I can't forget someone I met the other day."

"She's right about that. You should be proud of her. She remembers all of our names. When we first came across her, she kept mixing up our names. She's come a long way." Mila-Rose faked crying before being pushed to the ground. "The hell, brat?" Apacci smirked before it fell when the Amazon threw her body at her. The two scrambled around the floor, wrestling.

"Yeah! A catfight!"

"Shut the hell up, Ggio!" The two hissed at the stray _Arrancar_ in the corner before returning to breaking the other's arm. Instead of backing off in fear, he chuckled, reclining against his seat to watch the show.

Meanwhile, Sun-Sung, since Apacci broke into fighting Mila-Rose (again), finished explaining to Lilynette what happened earlier. A disturbed look settled on the youthful _Arrancar_ before leaving her face blank.

"So that's where Starrk went."

"He didn't explain it to you?"

She shrugged. "There's no need. I trust Starrk not to do anything stupid, and I trust you guys, too."

"Thank you." She lowered her head humbly. "We wouldn't harm the human. Actually I find her to be quite refreshing. Lady Halibel mentioned her to us when she arrived, but it never occurred to any of us to go and take a look at her. I'm almost ashamed. Being close to her the other reminded me of something."

"About what?"

"Well, many things actually. I… can't remember much about my time before I became an _Arrancar_. Actually even before I became an _Adjucha_. It's all a blur."

"I think that's the same for every one of us. Not even Apacci's alone on that one."

Sun-Sung allowed a smirk, though it went unnoticed behind her raised hand. "But it still feels a bit upsetting, particularly now when we don human forms. To not be able to remember your life as a human, devour humans, and then be given an option to turn into a form vaguely human, be it artificial or otherwise."

Lilynette's eyes faltered; Sun-Sung noticed the change.

"Do not misunderstand. I do not feel remorseful about devouring human souls to live. Most of us have gone past that concept; it's in our natures. Besides, when you look at one way, a thought which Shinigami fail to see, Hollows are composed of many human souls. Even if we are understandably chaotic, we are still humans deep down."

Her companion frowned. "I can understand where you're going with this, but I guess it would make more sense to label us as monsters to avoid the confusing headache I'm getting at thinking all of that."

"Yeah, I see where you're going with that. But I just don't see how fair that is." The girl slumped forward, a first sight for Lilynette as even in her worse days, the greenette would keep her posture as straight as possible. "We were once humans. Because of a Death god's failure at purifying us, we turn into… a monstrosity?" She said it like a question. "A mesh of human souls… in order to keep ourselves stable, in order to prevent degenerating into something truly monstrous, we feast on more human souls to continue our existence, evolving into more stable forms until finally… we become 'humans' ourselves."

Both of them turn to gaze at their hands, something which before was a simple image, a memory of a time long ago.

"…It's ironic, in many senses." Sun-Sung withdrew her hand into her sleeve once again.

"Geez, can this conversation get any depressing?"

"I'm glad to see you two are all right." Both sat arm length from the other, panting heavily. Mila-Rose now featured several scratches on her torso and arms, while Apacci sported a black eye.

"Apacci totally kicked your ass!"

"I said shut it, Ggio!" When the _Arrancar_ cackled at the response, she rose to her feet, stomping her way over to the daft man.

"Yeah, she's feeling pretty sore about it. So what did I miss?" Apacci propped her arms on the table, looking expectantly at the two. Sun-Sung gave her a look.

"I thought you said the conversation was depressing."

"Yeah, I thought feel like repeating it if you're just going to forget it in the next few minutes."

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**A/N: **This chapter's late because yours truly goofed off on a typing day. *sigh* At least I managed to type it up today. Dialogue. 'Nuff said. Oddly enough, I had fun typing this chapter up. Sorry for the backward-ness in this chapter. It was still fun to type, so I hope you can enjoy it as well. Also - fail at being witty! XD

Until next time! _Ja mata ne_!


	27. Chapter 27

Sweeping up any remaining filth, Orihime hummed as she worked. Currently Starrk had left to contact someone about the state of the kitchen – due to the incident, plenty of the food needed to be stocked up. The other _Arrancar_ who had been here – Loli, she remember the name she voiced – had finished up with cleaning every noticeable mess. She like she as imposing so she had insisted for her to leave, that she would take care of the rest along with Starrk. Loli did as asked, though she thought she moved a bit hesitantly. Or maybe she was overthinking things. It's not like she was alone. The little _Arrancar_ who started all of this was still in the kitchen, albeit not helping. She sat on the counter, legs moving back and forth, her large eyes on the human girl.

"So, what's your name? I can't keep calling you little one, can I?" She said in a way for humor.

The _Arrancar_ wrinkled her nose a bit. "Yeth, don't cawu me witto." She smiled a huge smile on her small face. "I'm Newu."

"Newu? Or… Nel?"

"Newu!" She put two fingers up. Orihime stared long and hard at the appendix, thinking for a moment she was praising her deduction, when maybe she was referring to something else.

"Oh, your name is Nel!" She had a finger up to signify her epiphany. The newly proclaimed Nel clapped at her discovery.

"Yeth! Yeth! You got it wight!" Orihime giggled at her enthusiasm. The little _Arrancar_ looked so adorable, her mask looking so cartoonish despite its form of identity. And she was just so small! It added to her cute value.

"I'm Orihime." She introduced herself.

"'Awo, Owihime." She giggled

With her hustle and bustles on the side, she went back to finishing off the rest of the cleaning.

"Owihime, you mished a spot."

"Huh?" She followed the direction Nel pointed at, nearly jumping when she saw a rather large spot of gunk on the floor. She wondered how she could have missed it. It was pretty sizable, and studying it closer, she thought the mess probably seeped under the counter. She stood there for a moment at a lost, wondering how she would clean it. With a sigh, she reclined the broom against the wall, going back to get the wipe and mop. Returning to the spot, she noticed in surprise Nel near the filth. "Nel don't get too close. You'll get dirty." Surprisingly, the little _Arrancar_ did as she was asked, moving to give the girl some space to work. It didn't take long for Orihime to clean the mess up. The wipe was enough to clear everything away, along with the added assistance of cleaning chemicals, but while she did all of this, she came upon something unnoticed before.

When her hand swept over a tile on the floor, she stopped in place at a slight movement underneath her hand. That portion of the floor moved slightly in place with the added pressure from her hand. It caught her curiosity – or at the very least her interest. She kept putting pressure down on the spot, wondering why the floorboard was out of place. After another push, the girl jumped in place when the sound of a heavy object moving sounded through the room. It last for a few moments, stopping not long after it started. Despite its short existence, she quickly deduced its origin beyond the storage closet. After getting to her feet she opened the door, marveling at what awaited her on the other side.

While it may not have seemed like much of a find, Orihime found the notion of a secret passageway quite alluring. "Where does this lead to, I wonder?"

"Oh, juth shome shortcut to the cathe." Nel approached her from behind, hands encircling her right leg. "That's how I came here. Da white man towd me about it, sho I took it and came hewa."

Orihime had to wonder how no one could have guessed about this little stowaway entering the castle. Starrk had treated the situation as insignificant, so maybe it wasn't anything major, but had Nel been anyone else. Still, she was curious, wondering who exactly had told the girl of this place. Wouldn't this be a well-kept secret? She would have asked the young _Arrancar_, but her interest mounted as she looked into the inky darkness. Unsurprisingly, her heart thumped heavily within her chest. She didn't need her spiritual sense to know there was something down below. Something clearly dangerous.

"Um, Nel, just a manner of wanting to know… how in the world did you manage to get through there without… getting any attention?" She had no idea if the _Arrancar_ would understand the meaning of her sentence, considering the creature's clear manner of acting.

"It ish kinda of scawee…" She shivered against her leg, tugging the limb back. "Pweashe don't go down thewe!"

Despite her earlier interest, she opts to agree with the little one for now. It wouldn't be safe to go off like this, especially without much of a plan. If anything she needed to consult someone first. _And I think I know who..._In the meantime, she needed to put this place back to the way it was. She stepped away, hurriedly trying to come up with a way to close up the door. To her relief, it did so by itself once she stepped away from the threshold's vicinity. She placed a plank she found in the storage before the space just as a precaution before stepping out and closing the closet. Picking up Nel, she placed the _Arrancar_ on the counter out of her way before returning to the previous task at hand. Quickly, she mopped the floors, leaving them spotless, and finishing everything off before Starrk came back into the kitchen.

"What did I miss?" Strangely enough, he had a smile on his face – a small one, but noticeably all the same. He leaned against the counter, toying with the slight _Arrancar_.

"I'm done." Not much of an answer but she couldn't think of anything to say to entertain the _Primera_. Her mind still swirled around her find. He noticed – his hand hung limply over the air, Nel attempting to bring it back down to her level to play again. Starrk gave her a weird look.

"Something up?"

"No… it's just…" She stopped herself right there. Did she really need to tell him about this? It was a secret, she assumed. A floor tile activates it. And it leads to somewhere… some place undoubtedly dangerous. However…

'_If I can figure out how it works…_'

"What did you want to do here, Starrk? The kitchen is clean now. I think it'll be easier to search for it."

"Oh, yeah…" He walked over to the counter island in the center, plucking a few orange fruits from the rearranged basket in the center. "Want to eat some mandarins on the kobatsu?" He looked hopeful, holding out the mentioned fruits in his hands. She blinked up at him, heart skipping in place. Honestly, she was touched he wanted to enact her earlier fantasy. She thought of the _Sala_, and with a smile she responded:

"Sure."

The two of them gathered everything they would need, Orihime requesting a few things to bring along as well. Starrk was a bit alarmed, but did as he was told. He may have instigated it, but it was originally her idea. She knew the best route to take for this. As he went off gathering everything, Orihime turned her attention back to Nel. The green-hair girl surprisingly withdrew, tiny hands fidgeting with the hem of her dress, large amber eyes staring at her feet without much feeling. She looked down at the girl in concern. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Noshing." Her head shook a little in place. Orihime would have left her alone if her ears hadn't caught on to some faintly said speech. "I'm wowied about Itigo." She froze in place. Not believing her ears for the duration of that moment. Even her heart jumped, erratically starting up again. Her body trembled in place as her mind whirled in turmoil. Just one word said, and the slight peace she had enjoyed was shattered. Whispers of reassures told her not to second guess herself – for another moment, she wondered if the thoughts were her own. She put a smile on her face, a hand lifting to pat the top of the little one's head.

"It'll be fine, I promise. If you want I can help you out with anything you need help on, okay?" Big amber eyes looked up at the taller of the two. She sniffed her eyes hopeful. She nodded, arms reaching up towards her. Orihime looked at the gesture in query before reaching a conclusion. Taking the tiny _Arrancar_ in her arms, she settled her comfortably in her embrace. As she walked out of the room, Nel settled around comfortably in her arms.

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**A/N:** Okay, this one is a bit awkward but I'm getting around there. Thank you for reading. _Ja mata ne_!


	28. Chapter 28

A fist banged against the table, a rowdy woman yelling at the top of her lungs for attention. "Oi! Bring some more tea over here!" The outburst was followed with the sound of cackling.

"Hey, have mercy on him! You've been pushing him around for the last few minutes!"

"You could say please…"

"Hey, Starrk come over here!"

The _Primera_ did as he was told, standing up from his place on the couch. It was his favorite place to be, considering it was the closest comfort zone, right next to the bookshelf to boot. It held some titles from the world of the living world – pretty much the only world that feature such things as these books. He found them very interesting, but unfortunately Lilynette won't give him the time of day. He walked on over to the kobatsu, where six females sat around.

"What is it?" He brought a book with him just in case, but now he was regretting it. The surface of the table was in a mess from varies little snacks devoured. Where was he going to place his book?

"Here! You need to try this pudding thing! It's delicious!" He sighed. This was second time in a row she'd disturb him in order to try out one of the treats Orihime had made. The human girl shrugged her shoulder, though she truly did look apologetic at his current crisis. Nonetheless, he lowered himself to his knees so his ward could pluck the spoonful of sweet into his mouth. Admittedly, it was delicious. He didn't voice it, but he knew Lilynette could tell by the twinkle in her eye. She removed the spoon, scooping up another batch of the treat and holding it up for him to try again. He did so without question.

"Oi! Ggio! My tea!" Mila-Rose roared, banging her hand onto the kobatsu once more. A few of the loungers winced at the sound of impact, most eyes on the Amazon _Arrancar_. She acted as if drunk, though she had ingested nothing but sweets in the past few minutes. Starrk met Sun-Sung's wandering stare and gave a returning glance that clearly said she was on a sugar high. The greenette shrugged.

"You keep doing that and you're going to break the table, Rose. Stop it!" Lilynette picked a pile of mandarin peels, promptly throwing them at her. She flinched away from them, but not even a second passed before she resumed getting the wayward _Arrancar_'s attention. Lilynette sighed, her attention landing on the others around the table. "Well, she didn't bang the table again."

"Keep it down or else she'll do again." Apacci commented behind her pudding stack. Lilynette nodded before diving into what was left of hers. Orihime had watched the exchange between the two, passing a plate of the homemade treat to Starrk. He took it gratefully.

"This is the first time I've eaten anything made from the kitchen." He admitted. She looked at with wide-eyes. The two of them sat next to each other, Lilynette to Starrk's right and little Nel at Orihime's left. The girl placed a hand on the little girl's head/mask, stroking it every few seconds. Nel meanwhile munched on another treat the human girl made during their final crusade in the kitchen – popcorn. Instantly becoming fond of the treat, she had not bothered anyone, focused instead on devouring the popped kernel laced with honey. Starrk had been dubious of the combination – when he had tried it out on a whim earlier in the kitchen, it was a bit too salty for his taste. Seeing Orihime decorate the entire bowl with the sweet nectar left him baffled, but she had assured him it would be delicious. He hadn't tried it again, but seeing the little girl distracted with it made him curious. Right now, though, he had his own treat to finish off.

"You know, I've never tried that." Apacci now turned her attention to the other bowl of popcorn in front of her. No one else had touched either. It seemed when Starrk studied Nel, everyone else had pitched in, studying her as she snacked away. Being the self-proclaimed daredevil, Apacci held out a hesitant hand, hand gathering a fistful of popcorn. She gave the ball another doubtful look before popping a few kernels into her mouth. The effects were almost instantaneous. Her blue-and-red eyes looked near about to pop out of their sockets, a very audible "Mmm!" coming after. Everyone else (who heard) didn't need to be told in actual words. They went ahead and dug in.

"Ugh, it's sticky…"

"It's stuck to my glove. Hehe."

"God, this is _so_ good."

"Told you so."

One after another, Starrk popped a sweeten kernel into his mouth. "You don't see this kind of treat served here, do you?"

"I'm requesting for these to be served whenever we gather for tea." Apacci admonished. Sun-Sung, again a rarity, nodded in agreement. Starrk couldn't have agreed more. He wasn't one for food, but this would be a great addition to the numerous meetings Aizen calls upon. He frowned a bit at the thought. On second thought, he really doesn't look forward to those kinds of meetings. He would rather be in his room sleeping or spending time with Lilynette – or Orihime now, since it appeared she'd be staying.

He looked over the human girl – giggling, appearing happy despite her company. His soul moved – literally it did – at the sight. It wasn't something he voiced out loud due to the lack of similar minded people, but he liked seeing others happy. Orihime was no exception even with their apparent race differences. Then again, just exactly how different were they, aside from the obvious everyone is all too happy to point out?

Starrk drew closer to the girl, a subconscious reaction to his thought, leaning his head a bit close to her. At first she didn't seem to notice him, not until he spoke up, warm breathe running down her neck, "Are you having fun?"

The girl jumped a blush appearing on her face. "Y-Yes." He didn't know why she whispered the answered, but he found he liked it. For that reason, he smiled a rare occurrence in itself, especially with how wide it was. Maybe with how weird everything was, he found this to be amusing.

It was just the two of them…

"Um, Coyote-san… you have a bit of food on you lip."

He snapped back, looking incredulous at the girl. Orihime timidly reached a hand forward and wiped it away. She yipped looking at her hand like it was an alien specimen.

"I'm so sorry, Coyote-san!" She picked up a napkin from the table and feverishly wiped away at the filth. Starrk blinked at her odd behavior, wondering what she was apologizing for. He would have tried asking her if he didn't feel all other eyes on the table on them. When he whips his head to their direction, all but one turns their head away. The remaining person glared at him right back with her pink eye.

"What'd you do?"

"You're going to assumed I did something, huh?"

"It's nothing." Orihime stepped in, a hint of pink still coating her cheeks. "Just freaked out for no reason." Oh, that's what happened. Still, Starrk thought there was more to it than that. He left it alone for now, though. He already had the attention of everyone in the room, but definitely when he catches her alone or when they were away from others' earshot. "Did you guys really like it?"

"Yeah, it's definitely different."

"I think you mean good, Apacci."

"Same difference."

"Not really, girl."

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"Finally got your head out of the love clouds, Mila-Rose?"

"What the hell?"

"And here I was actually thinking it was quiet." Starrk chuckled as the room broke into outburst.

"I kind of like it this way, though." Orihime laughed along.


	29. Chapter 29

The room felt warmer than ever. It probably had to do with how much she's laughed so far. How much time has passed – she wasn't so sure, but it had to be hours considering everything. She wouldn't give anything for the time she spent with them, _Arrancar_ or not. A number of other _Arrancars_ came to enjoy themselves in the _Sala_, so the place got packed fast. She saw the evidence but it didn't assert until she saw others devouring the treats brought in from the kitchen. Not once did it occur to her that like humans, _Arrancars_ partook in snacking. She saw so many people munching on her snack, it wasn't even funny. No one ate the food she prepared back home. …Though she didn't want to be thinking about that too much.

Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling of exhaustion which swiftly past over her. Orihime stifled a yawn. Sitting around the kobatsu did little to help in her attempt to stay awake. Her eyes droop and she leaned forward to lie on table top.

"Hey, Orihime."

She blinked, trying to turn her head to face Lilynette. The young _Arrancar_ also appeared to be drowsily lounging on the table. "Oh, you're still up. I was thinking of moving back to the room. Want to come with me?"

This time she couldn't keep her yawn in. "Well, I, um…"

"Yeah, I don't think we can leave yet. We gotta wake Starrk up first…" The blonde groaned, getting up from her place with visible reluctance.

With the space of time, the _Sala_ had filled up with a few more _Arrancars_. Orihime studied the new faces with interest as she waited for Lilynette to come back.

When she did return, she was in a huff. "Ugh! He won't wake up! And stupid Barragan and Zommari are playing that stupid game!"

"What game?"

"I don't know." Her look of annoyance morphed into slight gloom. "I think it's one of those games from the world of the living." Orihime perked at the mention. "The thing is, they play this game and it takes ages for them to finish. It's really annoying and boring to look at. I mean, Starrk even fell asleep and he's usually the type to look at that kind of stuff."

Lilynette ranted on about it, but Orihime's attention lingered to the other side of the room.

Two _Arrancars_ sat around a table, attentions fiercely fixated on whatever was placed on the surface. She arched her head a bit in hopes of seeing it, only to be met with white and black tiles. Her mind perked with the familiar sight, a memory poking at the edges. Her curiosity urged her to move away from the kobatsu, sleepiness forgotten for the moment.

From behind, she heard Lilynette ask her where she was going. She felt bad for the responding, but either way, she heard her shift and follow her from behind.

Silence and only that, both male _Arrancars_ concentrated on their game. Upon closer inspection she saw it to be Shogi.

"Oh, I haven't seen Shogi since I was a child." She didn't think her words would actually reach the two dedicated players, so she was surprised to see them turn their heads her way. She jumped, stepping back a bit. "Oh, uh, please continue playing!"

The older looking of the two gave her a curt look before returning to the game. The darker skinned one looked at her for a bit longer before finally looking away. Now her nerves standing on edge, she shifted close to a nearby couch so she could watch the game. Nothing much happened at first. Both appeared to be lost in thought, gazing at the board as they thought out their next move. While literally sitting at the edge of her, lost in her deep interest, she didn't realize the movement by her side until she heard the shout.

"Orihime!"

Her head snapped to address Lilynette, and as a result, she failed to see Starrk approach her from the other side. His arms drew close around her, and she squealed when he drew her close to him.

"Would you be _quiet_?" Barragan growled, aiming a glare at Starrk. He snuggled Orihime, the human girl red on the face. He gave him an amused look.

"Too noisy for you? Can't concentrate with too much noise?"

The old man persona growled. Zommari merely sighed. He lifted his hand in the air. Orihime twitched when she felt the familiar sensation of reiatsu reacting and moving. To her eyes, they were invisible but it crackled in the air, faint but present. She could tell that he was the source for the disturbance.

His finger twitched ever so slightly with the force of the energy, and the movement caused one of the shogi pieces to transfer to another spot on the board. Zommari muttered something to which Barragan responded with a grunt.

"It's your turn, my good man." Starrk announced in a loud voice. The elderly _Arrancar_ pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please, _Primera_, if you cannot keep quiet, I'll have to request you move elsewhere."

He shook his head. "No, no, that won't do. I want to watch your amusing little game, so just pretend I'm not here and continue on."

Lilynette's presence spiked from behind the couch they sat, her hair tickling the side of her face. She giggled softly as she turned to face her. The lithe _Arrancar_ had a smirk on her face, whispering quietly, "Are you feeling comfortable?" She blushed. Orihime was unfortunately aware of the close proximity they had. Her face heated up; she tried to move a bit, possibly as a way to hint at her discomfort. But to her horror, the tall man snuggles her. If her face wasn't already alit, now it burst into flames.

She sighed, the breath coming out as a shudder. For now, she resigned to remaining on the spot, seeking entertainment by watching the game. Secretly, she wanted to be elsewhere, or at least, away from Starrk, but the _Arrancar_ kept hold of her. Could she resist? She probably could, and he would take notice and action in ensuring her contentment. However, the bottom line remained; she would feel guilty for disturbing him, and it was to her attention that they wanted to spend time together enjoying themselves.

A frown marred her gentle features. Every time her mind lingered on the topic – enjoying her – something always... always clicked into place. In a very disapproving way, really. Like it was telling she shouldn't be thinking of relaxing. She knew why she thought like this, but the calm natures of the souls all around her were infectious, and her worries were thrown in the air.

Orihime was strongly aware of the Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila-Rose arguing around a distraught Ggio. A blond boy, whom Lilynette introduced as Wonderweiss, played with a bunch of toys in another corner. Barragan sat frustrated and debating his next move in front of her. Another _Arrancar_ lingered by the book shelf Starrk visited before, his presence neutral. Zommari contemplated a pleasant hum in his aura. Lilynette's arms wrapped tightly around her arm while the girl snuggled closer to her warmth. The presence of Starrk's hand on her other arm, caressing it gently in a way which left her feeling a bit fuzzy.

She tried to move, but her muscles didn't obey her command. The room became a bit hot, and Starrk appeared too close to her. A worried look loomed over his features, and a cool glove lay over her hot forehead. Her chest heaved out a sigh, and she opened her mouth to tell him something.

"My dear _Espada_, just what exactly are doing?" A voice of the most sinister kind spoke up. Every spiritual pressure spiked up. Starrk and Lilynette went rigid beside her; or it could have been her, with how quickly her body froze up at the voice. The cold voice returned, declaring, "We are in the middle of preparing for a war, and instead I see everyone participating in such childish pastimes."


	30. Chapter 30

Darkness enveloped the room. Normally, it'd be a problem, maybe even the cause of some disturbances for her, but the familiar presence of one who is close reassured her. Surprisingly, there was silence. Completely unexpected considering the gathering of unique characters in the room, yet she would have it no other way. Even his presence felt on edged compared to his usual self.

"Starrk…"

"I know." He shifted closer to her. She noted something was missing but couldn't get a word in when another voice chimed in.

"My dear _Espada_," No amount of fear entered her form – unlike the others who went rigid at the tone, she simple sighed in resignation at hearing a speech she had no desire to hear.

Aizen Sosuke doesn't drone for much, no. In fact, the Shinigami smirked from his side of the room – Starrk drew in a quick breathe – and his hand held a firm grip on Lilynette's chin.

"Is there something you want to tell me, little one?" His voice dripped of honey. Then and only then did Lilynette quake. She quickly caught on, and against her more natural quirks, kept her eye half-lidded and down.

"Will we be on the attack soon?" She tried to steer his attention away from her. His slight grin grew larger in size, and he released his hold from her.

"About that… I'd like everyone's attention." Lilynette settled into the seat, keeping little gap between her and Starrk. The other _Arrancar_ slipped his hand over her shoulders, hugging her to his form.

"Hmm, it seems we have a bit of a delay. After all, I recent source of entertainment withdrew rather surprisingly. I'm a bit disappointed, I'll admit." From that, a number of the room's occupants voiced their agreement. Lilynette frowned, looking at the general direction of the speakers before she remembered something important.

"I will come with it straight: if these desert dunes do not liven up with unfamiliar Shinigami activity, we might have to make the move ourselves."

"For the conquering of the King's realm?" Barragan's voice came up from somewhere far across the room; a great distance from where he was before.

"Indeed." Fair distance planted between the slender girl and the pseudo-_Arrancar_ leader. She could no longer see the sadistic smile she knew was still present on his face. Starrk shifted, and with that movement she recollected her thoughts, leaning in to whisper into his ear. "I will let you know when it's time to make the move. In the meantime you all will do yourself a favor to prepare. It may come sooner than you think…"

The room lightens up, signaling the departure of their leader. It also revealed to her the distress on Starrk's face.

"What the hell do you mean Orihime's gone?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Exactly what you might think." She answered dryly. The urge to get up and search for the human girl was strong, but she still sensed Aizen's presence on the other side of the wall. Annoyance plainly stood out on Starrk's face. She sighed. "Just go." He whipped around almost instantly, his narrowed eyes expanded quite a bit. "You're going to get in trouble otherwise. I know he expects you of all people not to be there, but at this point in time, you can't afford to disappoint Aizen-sama. Not now."

Normally, Starrk would have argued back – he would if something displeased him greatly, and apparently this was one of those times. Instead, he shut his opened mouth and made towards the Shinigami. Barragan followed suit.

Left behind, Lilynette glanced around, double checking for any sign of the human girl. She only saw the nervous gestures of the other _Fracciones_ left to their devices in the room. Sung-Sun turned to look at her, a strange look on her face as she left with her two partners. Many of the other lesser _Arrancars_ lingered, obviously caught off guard with the sudden visit.

Eventually, her search resulting with no sight of the human girl, she turned the opposite way taken by Starrk, following close behind the female trio of Harribel's order. The three of them were spouting complaints – or rather Apacci and Mila-Rose swore their heads off at the oddity of the experience.

"Ladies." All three turned her way.

"Was that weird or what?" Lilynette followed the wild movements of Apacci's arms – a habit of her whenever she was feeling excited.

"It could have been worse."

"She's not kidding." Sung-Sun, solemn as ever, turned to look in front of her again.

"Just saying. It goes without saying that Aizen-sama leaves a heck of an impression."

The four of them drifted into silence for a moment before Mila-Rose spoke up. "I will agree those humans left quite surprisingly. Harribel-sama told us they were after the ginger head."

"Oh! That reminds me! Have you guys seen Orihime?"

"She was in the room with us, Lily. Y'all brought her with."

"No, I mean, have you seen her for real?" The tiny girl gestured back to the room for emphasize.

"Are you implying she went missing?" Sung-Sun turned back around, eyes narrowed in interest.

"We can't find her."

"Well, damn, I can't sense her anywhere."

"You were never good at that sort of thing to begin with. No one in their right mind would come to you for that sort of help."

"What the hell was that, pussy?"

"Apacci, Mila-Rose, stop. Seriously." The most mild-mannered of the trio glared at the two, both withdrawing from their small argument. She turned back to Lilynette. "Did you check carefully?"

"I did. This is bad because –" She stopped mid-sentence, a part of her rethinking heavily on the words she soon spoke aloud. Her mouth closed back, pink eye narrowing slightly as she redid her following words. "It's important for Starrk. And me, too. But mostly him. And, let's face it, in this huge place, against so many _Arrancars_, one measly human won't stand a chance."

Her listeners went quiet again, words settling down on them all. "Are you going to try her room first?" Mila-Rose spoke with grave importance.

"I think Starrk's going to do that. Even with everything going on, her safety's his priority. Aizen-sama commanded it."

"It'll be rather simple sensing her out if we split up." Sung-Sun, the ever thoughtful offered as they neared a fork. Lilynette tried to smile, but something gnawed at her gut, a feeling she couldn't quite shake off.

With a sigh, she voiced, "I think this is the most nervous I've felt throughout this whole war nonsense we got in. It wasn't much of though when this all started out but now... I just can't help but think things are about to go terribly wrong."

"…and all of this have to do with the girl?"

Lilynette nodded. "Orihime needs to be found. That's all I can say. Please let me know if you see her." She said to them as a parting when they reached the four way hall.

"Will do." Mila-Rose walked on, Apacci on her tail. Sung-Sun made to follow them, throwing one last look over her shoulder before proceeding.

Her shoulders slumped as soon as they were out of sight. Lilynette could not shake the feeling _Las Noches_ would soon be in an uproar.


	31. Chapter 31

For all of Nel's words warning her, Orihime could not suppress her body's constant shuddering. With a deep breathe; followed by a nervous gulp of whatever moisture left in her dry mouth, the human girl took another fearful step into the dark _Menos_ Forest.

A shrill cry came from one of the directions again. She tried to keep herself from jumping in place. It wasn't the eighth time, she counted, she heard that tone and she was starting to suspect if someone – or something – knew she was out here. On another note, she started seeing the foolishness of following the secret doorway. But she had seen her chance and she took it, even if it meant distancing herself from the good feeling she undoubtedly experienced.

"Nel-chan… You do know your way out, do you?" She asked her guide. The little greenette walked cheerfully ahead, thankfully not too far. She giggled, and it made Orihime wonder if she even knew of the possible danger she was in.

"Of cousse I do! Newu been hewa many times! Hea bwothas said they be hewa!"

"Your… brothers?" To this moment, she still had a hard time translating the little Hollow's speech. However, she was taken aback by the girl's choice of words. "Where are they?"

She stopped for a moment, slowly turning around with a small frown that tugged at the human's heart. "I don't know. They got lost."

"I see…" She took this opportunity to catch with her, steps jittery with her nervousness, reaching a hand out for the girl's. She placed her tiny hand in her grasp. "I can help you find them if you want."

Nel nodded. "Thank you. Thatit be nice."

The two continued to walk in silence, though the lack of sound did not last for long. Another sound broke through the sound screen, successfully scaring Orihime into running towards the nearest giant tree root. She was gasping for breath by the time she managed to stop, sweat pouring slightly from her pores.

"Owihime, awa you allwight?"

She meets the little _Arrancar_'s curious face with a shaky smile. "Y-yeah, just a little surprised. I haven't been here before."

"Don't wowee. The Howwoahs won't botha you if you ignowa them."

She simply nodded, not knowing how to feel about that. In truth, she was sure she could handle anything that attempts to harm them. The presences around her were not suffocating like in the castle – thank goodness. However, she knew from experience that spiritual entities were fully capable of hiding their presences.

Her gray eyes zipped from left to right, a hand subconsciously lifting to the teal hairpin by her right ear. Nel tugged at her hand, pulling them away from the shelter, deeper still into the woods.

The last thing she wanted was for the two of them to get lost. She turned back every now and then, watching the trail of footprints they both left behind. Although there was no wind, she felt as if they would be gone if she tried to turn back to see the rest of the long line. As an experiment, she threw out her senses beyond herself, trying to catch a hold of anything out there.

It… wasn't an easy process. Orihime knew she had well enough control over her spiritual pressure, but she faintly recalled lessons taught to help her suppress her spirit in form. It was an entirely different process letting it out, especially to one who does not have such large reserves of reiastu to begin with. She couldn't put out too little; otherwise the tendrils of spiritual power wouldn't react to nothing at all. Too much, and it'd cover up whatever it could manage to find. Not only that, but she was pretty sure that such overabundance of her reiatsu exposure would give away her position. She rather not let the whole forest know she was here.

However she needed to familiarize with everything. It hurt to think it, but Orihime couldn't entirely rely on Nel to deliver her from this forest safely. She couldn't be too hopeful of what laid at the end, either. It occurred to her she had no idea of what she would do if and when she found her way out.

Could she possibly find a way out of _Hueco Mundo_ in general? Even her normally optimistic self failed to produce a very hopeful possibility. If she recalled correctly, Hollows had a special way of getting in and out of their dimension, making her one of the few, if not the only, human to be in this place. Quite clearly, her options were mostly cut off.

She sighed. What could she do?

From the end of spiritual tendrils, something spiked. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Nel!" She hissed, scaring the little thing. "Over here!" Without waiting for a response, she picked her up – quite easily – rushing over to another giant tree root. Once she had her back against the hard surface, her breathes coming out harshly through her nose, she tried to smother her presence as much as she could. The fear she felt was evident; her spirit spiked and even little Nel appeared to realize the reason for Orihime's reactions.

The human girl bit the bottom of her lip to prevent from whimpering. Her hand returned to being placed over her right hairpin.

A roar echoed through the woods – Orihime and Nel froze stiff in their spots – a cry of agony which lingered in the air too long for their comfort. It was followed by a series of other cries and movements. Orihime still could not bring herself to move, but she thought it all came from a distance.

"They huntin'…" She heard Nel mumble.

"Hunting… who?"

"Each otha." The little _Arrancar_ left it at that, whimpering and burying her head into her chest. Orihime pasts a soothing hand over her green locks in an effort to assure. She wasn't so sure how well that went.

"Can we rest here?" She sighed, settling Nel onto her lap. She never got her answer, for she was already sound asleep. Despite the tension she felt, a smile managed to worm its way to her face. It was times like these she truly wondered if Nel really was a Hollow.

Her feelings of content soon faded as she studied her surroundings. Nel had the opportunity to relax, but Orihime's body stood on nerve's end, doing everything in its power to ignoring the unsettling noises the forest produced. She started to wonder if stopping to rest really was such a good idea. True, she believed to be hidden from view, but were they really safe?

Ignoring the nagging feeling in her gut, she nestled further into the bark, her gaze directed to the branches overhead. Or rather, the tree trunk overhead. The tree was so tall she could barely see what she thought were branches extending from the bulk of the form. And then she couldn't even see the very end of the structure. It was so tall… the only thing at the end was pitch black darkness. All of the trees extended towards this same space with seemly no end. Maybe they didn't… it occurred to her that before now, she never seen anything outside of _Las Noches_. Of course, she had seen the moon, but aside from that… nothing. Her curiosity peaks its head past her fear, and soon she started imagining climbing these trees. Who knew how far up it went, but maybe just maybe she could find her way out…

Another roar broke through the silence. Orihime nearly yelped out loud, her whole being ready to jump out of her skin. It sounded too close! Wide gray eyes surveyed the area, but through the roots she could not see any possible candidates to its origins.

"No… no, this is too much." She sighed shakily, unable to get the sound of the roar out of her mind. How could Nel sleep so close to her without waking when she was shivering from head to toe? And was it just her or did the air feel colder?

With held breath, she reached out her sense again. She took great care not to put out too much; she needed to be very carefully otherwise she'd have unwelcomed company. The process was slow, but in due time she covered a good portion of the area around her. To her surprise, she could even sense the tendrils of thin reiastu filing out of the various landmarks around her – the tree her supporting her back felt so warm with its soothing collection of spirit particles.

But soon something else came into her transcendent vision.


End file.
